Monthly Archives: December 2009

Online Privacy and Safety, in Life and in Court

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Earlier this month, as everyone who uses the site (hopefully) knows, Facebook changed its privacy options in a big way. I’m not going to do a breakdown of all of the changes—follow the link for a list of some. But the switch has brought up some issues that I’ve been thinking about for a while, and that will only become more and complicated as we all continue to increase our online activity and visibility.

“Social networking” can be fun, useful, or just a big waste of time. Whatever you think of it, it’s here to stay so no point lamenting. But as social networking sites like facebook become more complex and offer users more “options,” there’s been a number of ways in which the sites become less and less safe (and I’m talking real, physical safety, and emotional safety) for rape survivors, people with abusive former partners or stalkers, and regular folks who don’t think that sexual violence is hilarious. Over the years we’ve seen the “pro-rape” facebook group at a university in Australia, the “rape humor” pieces of flare you could post on your friends’ facebook pages, and the particularly frustrating function on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites that “suggests” people in your extended network (friends of friends and the like) for you to add to your network, which can mean that one day you login to your social network site of choice to find the face of a person who assaulted you and the casual suggestion from a website that you “poke” them or send them a message.

That in itself is horrifying enough. But imagine if you were trying to remain hidden from a former partner or a rapist (while also taking part in the internet like all of your friends) and couldn’t? Facebook’s new privacy settings make that a very serious reality. Though you can make it so that you are not searchable on facebook, you no longer have the option of keeping your list of friends private, which means any friend of your friends can find you. From the above-linked Gawker piece:

Your friends list, too, is considered public information. Though you can remove it from your profile, you can’t keep friends of friends from seeing it. They just have to pull up one of your friends’ friend list, click you name, and view your friends list.

Writes one reader: “Many of us are concerned, seeing as how there are thousands of people faced with the threat of stalkers.” Another, right on cue:

“I have been dealing with a deranged, threatening stalker… There is no way of keeping your Friend list private… I have been obsessively reading about this topic [overall Facebook privacy]… To say I’m outraged is an understatement.”

Indeed, people should be outraged, as this is an incredibly frightening issue for many. But so far there are no signs of change.

Further complicating this privacy mess has been the attempt to discredit reports of rape or sexual assault based on the victim’s facebook activity. One example from an English case in October of 2008:

[The defendant's lawyer] tried to persuade a judge to be lenient by showing pictures posted on the social networking site of the woman laughing and smiling at a fancy dress party in the years since the rape.

Colin McCarraher, defending, told Reading Crown Court last week: ‘What we have is a person who has post traumatic stress but is quite capable of going out and having a good time at a fancy dress party.’

I don’t think I need to explain how utterly absurd and fucked up that is. But that hasn’t stopped folks from trying similar defenses. This week, a judge in Lynchburg, Virginia refused the defense’s request to access the “facebook records” of the plaintiff in a sexual assault case. In the Lynchburg case, a female student from Liberty University accussed a male professor of assault.

The woman called police after visiting Moon’s office on April 21 to finish taking a test. She testified in an earlier hearing that she accepted Moon’s offer for a brief massage that day and fell asleep during it. She testified that she found him touching her inappropriately when she awoke…

His lawyer, Randy Trost, has argued that the woman sought favors from Moon because she was doing poorly in the course and that the touching was consensual. Those favors included the April 21 incident in which she was given extra time to complete a test.

Trost told the judge Tuesday that information she posted and exchanged on her Facebook account would show she spent the weekend before the test at the beach with friends, not diligently studying as she testified in June. He said her Facebook page would also show her back was not bothering her because she had gone rock climbing.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Rebecca Wetzel opposed the subpoena, saying the woman’s Facebook records were akin to postal service mail, e-mail and a journal since she had taken steps to make the information private, not publicly accessible. Wetzel said Trost could question witnesses during the trial if he could find someone to say the woman had been at the beach or had been rock climbing.

She also said the attempted invasion of the woman’s privacy was an effort to make the judicial process so intolerable that she would give up.

Lynchburg Circuit Court Judge Mosby Perrow said Moon’s request for all of the woman’s Facebook records from September 2008 until present was too broad. He said he would allow Trost to file a more specific request for the records.

I would add that the defense seems to be making a case that smears the plaintiff rather than proves the innocence of the defendant. I’m glad to see that the judge in this case ruled against the use of private facebook info…for the moment. At some point a case like this is going to make it to a higher court, and I’ll be watching to see how it plays out. I worry though that our legal system is very far behind our technology—as I think I have voiced here before—and in the meantime assault survivors are going to find themselves plagued by information they thought was private, and people they did not want to ever find them.

Sexual Assault in the Military

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A disturbing NY Times article from a series entitled “Woman At Arms” reports that although sexual assaults in the military are taken more seriously than they were in the past, they still are underreported. According to the article,

A woman in the military is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.

That’s insane. To make matters worse, as many are aware, reporting assaults can be even more traumatic than the assault itself. According to an old CNN article, 4 in 10 women serving in the miltary have been sexually assaulted. Women and men who report crimes are often stigmatized by their peers and may face counter charges for matters not directly concerned with their attack. For example,

Marti Ribeiro, then an Air Force sergeant, said she was raped by another soldier after she stepped away from a guard post in Afghanistan in 2006 to smoke a cigarette, a story first recounted in “The Lonely Soldier,” a book by Helen Benedict about women who served in Iraq and elsewhere. When she went to the abuse coordinator, she was threatened with prosecution for having left her weapon and her post.

In some ways military sexual assaults can put a woman in a similar situation as a college campus assault. Both settings have a higher number of sexual assaults than exists in the general population (according to some surveys). Yes, they are extremely different worlds– but in both, you have many people living in a virtual fishbowl. There is not always much privacy, and you are subject to additional restrictions and policies, not to mention a more rigid hierarchy.

The military and DoD have programs for reported sexual assaults. However, protocol is notoriously cast aside in place of intimidation and apathy.

The Sharp Program (Sexual Harassment / Assault Response and Prevention) – the army’s sexual assault response and prevention program
SAPRO - the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault & Prevention Office

Self-care as Activism During the Holidays

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It’s that time of the year again! The year is coming to a close and I notice that everyone is getting happier yet more stressed at the same time. I think there is a reason why there is a small peak in suicides during the holiday season. It can be overwhelming to combine the normal expectations of life with the message that you’re supposed to ALWAYS. SUPER. HAPPY! The holiday season can be a very difficult time for some people for a variety of reasons, whether it has to do with having to see certain family members or not having anyone at all.

At the end of the day, the end of the year is not a piece of cake for anyone. As a sexual violence activist, I read and hear about really depressing stuff on a near-daily basis. In addition to whatever personal things I may be struggling with AND all of this good ol’ “holiday cheer” I realized this is a SUPER important time for self-care.

If you Google “activist burnout” you will get over a million and a half hits. If you then search for “holiday burnout” you get almost two million. These numbers show how prevalent these conditions are and as an activist during the holidays I think it suffices to say that it is twice as important to make sure you take care of yourself.

Burnout can be manifested physically, mentally, behaviorally, and spiritually. Some symptoms include:

  • Chronic tiredness – sleep does not refresh
  • Sleep affected – hard to get to sleep or wake early
  • Withdrawal and isolating oneself from friends and colleagues
  • Lack of effectiveness
  • Negative mind set and irritability
  • Cynicism about previously valued things
  • Inner sense of emptiness – nothing left to ‘give’

It’s funny how both the activist and holiday burnout suggestions overwhelmingly had the same suggestions and key points. It shows that regardless of what may be burning you out there are a few indisputable ways to take care of yourself and minimize any ill effects. Remember: how can you help others to your full potential when you’re not effectively helping yourself? I especially liked the way that Anishinaabekwe put it:

Why is self love important in activism? Self love is important in activism because it shows self respect and personal empowerment. It is not self serving to have love for yourself. It is radical to love yourself. You can be a living example for the communities and people you work with. It will help you continue the work that you do because you are making sure to take care of you. This is radical because much of what people know as service is sacrifice. In this type of service you won’t be of any benefit to others if you are giving and giving while not taking care of you. You will eventually burn out. So you have to love you.

So how do you take care of yourself?

  • Learn to say no. I will admit I don’t listen to this as often as I should. It’s hard sometimes because you WANT to help and do everything you can, but at the end of the day…you realize crap, I have taken on too much. And then being overstressed can lead to under-productivity.  I also have learned to not immediately commit to a social event. I realized that my friends won’t be instantly offended if I don’t accept their party invitation right away. I may prefer to stay home and spend some quiet time to myself.
  • Take care of your body. Try to implement healthy eating, exercise, and SLEEP into your normal routine. Remember: that awesome blog post you just found on SAFER will still be there tomorrow. I promise.
  • Disconnect sometimes. Go for a walk. Read a (relaxing, non-work related!) book. Listen to some music. Write in your journal. Make sure you take some time away from the computer, BlackBerry, and Television screen.
  • Plan and prioritize your life. This kind of ties in everything I mentioned together. Have a calendar with all your events, commitments, and to-do’s that you can access daily (Right now I use Remember the Milk and Google Calendar and sync them with my BlackBerry and desktop calendar program). Having everything in one place makes it easier for you to see what you need to get done and when so you can accordingly turn down that grant writing deadline or last-minute dinner invite.
    • Physically schedule downtime. I LOVE reading, but can easily lose a whole day in front of the computer reading about the latest rape myth perpetuation or talking to friends about New Years Eve. Scheduling time to read and exercise and even watch that guilty pleasure show on DVR on my calendar reminds me that it’s okay to dedicate this time to me and I’ll still be able to get everything done. Then I can enjoy running that mile listening to Lady GaGa guilt-free and not having that deadline or Christmas errand hanging over my head.
    • It is sooo satisfying ticking off that errand on your to-do list. Having a concrete reminder that you ARE getting things done can be a confidence booster and that everything (including eliminating sexual violence) has to be done one step at a time.
    • Don’t know where to start? Using a time tracking program like Toggl can help you gauge how much time you’re spending (or wasting) and help you take the next step in time management.

So Happy Holidays! And make sure to take care of yourself!

Recommended reading:

Self Love as Activism

Stress Management and Burnout Prevention, ACLU

Sustainable Activism and Avoiding Burnout, Activist Trauma Support

Avoiding Holiday Burnout, Empowher.com

Pittsburg State University Expands Sexual Assault Hotline to Include Texting

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So, this story out of Pittsburg State in Kansas is actually old news from October, but was just brought to my attention this weekend by my fellow SAFER Board member, Renee.

There are times when a victim of sexual assault simply can’t talk on the phone. That’s the reason for Pittsburg State offering a new text messaging service for its violence hotline, the first of its kind in the nation.

“We had an 800 line, and we stopped offering that because of the parent company of our cell phone company,” said Dr. Julie Allison, advisor of Students Against Violence through Education. “We were trying to provide a way to offer a new service, and we thought of text messaging. That might be a new way of reaching targets of domestic violence better than a phone call, because it is silent.”

(To clarify, the school may have gotten rid of its 800 line, but it still has an active phone hotline). The article doesn’t have much information about how the texting system works, or what kind of assistance can be offered to students who contact via text. (I’m thinking I might just email to ask for more info, because I’m way intrigued). However, in an emergency when a student is potentially scared to call for help (because of the presence of a violent partner or attacker) the benefits are obvious. I’ve actually wondered when 911 will become text-able for the same reasons.

PSU may be the first school to pilot a text-hotline, but increasingly survivor support and other sexual violence/health-related services are taking advantage of new(ish) technology to give folks more, better, and safer options. RAINN has been running an online sexual assault hotline for a while, and you can use your phone to email or tweet your sexual harassment stories to Hollaback from the street. Recently, Scarleteen—the most badass sexual health and education website on the block—started a new sex ed texting service to answer sexual health questions and provide support for young folks and their allies. Check it out:

What can you use the new text service for?

  • Questions about your body and sexual health, your overall sexuality, birth control, sexually transmitted infections, your relationships, gender identity or sexual identity, your rights as a young person: all the same kinds of things you can ask about on the website.
  • Help you need when you’re out looking for it and feeling lost, like with finding emergency contraception (or dealing with a pharmacist refusal), a sexual health clinic, a rape or abuse crisis center or hotline, help with any kind of harassment of bullying, even if you’re just trying to find somewhere in your area to buy condoms. Seriously: we’d be happy to look up a map on our end and tell you how to get to a pharmacy or clinic as easily as possible if it’s going to help you take care of yourself.
  • Having someone on the line during something scary or tough, just so you feel better. If you need us to be textable for you while you’re sweating out those long three minutes on a pregnancy test or waiting for someone you trust to pick you up from a creepy party or date, we’re around and glad to sit through it with you.
  • For helping out a friend. Many of our users come to Scarleteen to help others out. If you need help helping someone else, or finding a service for a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend or sibling, we can get you started, even if you’re not at home.
  • Questions about the website and our organization in general, including if you’re a parent or mentor.

To ask Scarleteen a question via text, just text 66746 and start your question with the keyword ASKST.

It’s really wonderful to see all of these innovations, and I can’t even imagine what the future holds in terms of technology and violence  prevention, support, and education. If you’re reading this and can think of any similarly neat and new services, let me know.

survivor sensitivity: a very broad outline for organizers

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As a leading organizer against sexual assault on your campus, you will, invariably, become the point person for students to first divulge their assault.  It is imperative that your approach be inclusive, supportive, and informed.  I am writing this from the perspective of an organizer who, during my experiences with anti-rape work, was rather impotent in my efforts to support survivors.  The most I provided was hugs and promises that I would work to reform the campus code of conduct so that their rapists would be brought to justice.  Luckily, as a social justice activist I was fairly aware of some of the more basic stereotypes that discourage and harm victims who are first telling of their assault.  But I was nonetheless unaware of all of these, nor was I knowledgeable about the legal and medical necessities that need to be available to survivors.  Please keep in mind that I am neither a trained counselor, nor police officer, nor lawyer, and this is only a very brief, very basic outline of some recommendations for student organizers with regard to survivor sensitivity.

First thing is first: be wary of your own assumptions about rape.  We are trained in a rape culture, an integral part of which is victim blaming.  Some stereotypes illuminate this.  With regard to women victims, responses like: ‘she asked for it by wearing provocative clothing or teasing the men,’ or ‘she was the one who was at a party and drinking, so she should have expected it’ are clear reflections of victim blaming.   That the victims are blamed for the crime is both ridiculous and illogical, but unfortunately this is what we are raised believing.

Here are some broad tips for supporting victims as they tell you of their assault, from crimevictimservices.org (edited slightly for inclusivity):

  1. Do…be a good listener
    Don’t…do all of the talking
  2. Do…assist in getting the help the survivor needs and wants (providing phone numbers, information, transportation, etc.)
    Don’t…give the survivor advice or make decisions for the survivor
  3. Do…help the survivor overcome feelings of guilt for not fighting back (by explaining that fear often inhibits people and that cooperation does not mean consent)
    Don’t…tell the survivor what you would have done in their situation …ask why they didn’t scream, fight, or run
  4. Do…minimize the number of times that the survivor must tell their story of the assault
    Don’t…prevent the survivor from talking about the assault if they want to
  5. Do…assure the survivor that the assault was not their fault, that no one asks to be assaulted, and that no one deserves to be violated.
    Don’t…ask why they were walking alone at night or why they went out …ask the survivor if they did anything to “lead the perpetrator on”
  6. Do…help the survivor know that this experience will disrupt their life, but they will recover
    Don’t…encourage the survivor to “just forget about it”
  7. Do…express support both verbally and nonverbally
    Don’t…stare or invade the survivor’s personal space

(Adapted from “What to Say and What Not to Say to a Survivor of Sexual Assault.” UM Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, Ann Arbor, MI.)

Additionally, remember that the goal is first and foremost to support the victim.  Though prosecution of rape perpetrators is necessary, this process can often be traumatic and damaging to victims (due to the insensitivity of our general culture and legal and police authorities).  So don’t pressure survivors to divulge their stories (for instance, at Take Back the Night or other awareness events, to the administration, etc) if they don’t seem inclined to.

Once you have identified and changed of some of the more basic stereotypes related to victim blaming, there is the question of inclusivity.  Though the majority of (reported) survivors are women, there are also male survivors, queer survivors, trans survivors, disabled survivors, and survivors of color—each of these individuals will face different obstacles related to race, disability, etc, and it is important to be aware of assumptions that can further isolate these individuals as they reveal their assault to you.  For more details on this, please see SAFER’s website for the intersectionality section, in which each article contains some examples of victim insensitivity related to class, gender, etc.

Third, and importantly, you will want to be very familiar with the medical, university-wide, and legal options available to victims.  For legal prosecution of perpetrators, a rape kit will be necessary.  If this is not available at the university you will want to be aware of the closest hospitals that provide emergency rape kits, and you will also want to ensure that these are victim-friendly.  Additionally, many survivors face further trauma when reporting to authorities, particularly police and university administrators.  You should offer to accompany the survivor if s/he chooses to report the rape to these authorities.  Ensuring that these authorities (particularly university administrators) are sensitive to rape victims, aware of stereotypes and victim blaming, and supportive of prosecution of perpetrators is also important.
Hopefully this brief article illuminated some of the outlines for ensuring victim sensitivity.  In the future, at SAFER we hope to be able to provide services for organizers seeking legal and medical counseling for survivors on their campuses.

References:

http://www.crimevictimservices.org/page/sexassault/

Attention New Yorkers!

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The NYC Alliance Against Sexual assault is currently seeking volunteers to be a part of a citywide task force that aims to increase City Council members’ awareness and understanding of sexual violence and its impact as a major health and human rights issue that can be prevented. Through advocacy and education, we hope to increase their support of sexual violence prevention and intervention services.

Our strategy is to mobilize task force members to meet with Council Members in larger numbers than previous years in order to create the greatest impact possible.

Phase one of this project includes an advocacy training/information session for people interested in becoming involved with the task force.

The training is scheduled for Wednesday, January 20th at 5:30pm. This training will serve as an information session to learn more about the initiative and how to get involved, as well as provide an overview of the city and state budget process. The training is free and snacks will be provided.

To register for this event and for more information please visit: https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5469/l/eng/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=14087

If you have any questions, contact:

Lauren Kurtz
NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault
lkurtz@svfreenyc.org
212.229.0345 ext 310

Rape kit vs SAFE kit

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I’ve never thought much about this, but I heard about a colleague at a rape crisis center who has renamed their “rape kits” to “SAFE kits” (Sexual Assault Forensic Examination). I’d always taken the term “rape kit” without question, and this colleague pointed out that the term “rape kit” does nothing to imply treatment, and in fact implies victimization. A quick look at Wikipedia reveals that the original term is indeed SAFE kit, and doesn’t state where the term rape kit came from. We all know language is powerful — any thoughts on where the term “rape kit” came from?

Sunday News Linkage

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Ah, another remnant of the Bush era falls. Last week a bill was signed to stop funding for abstinence-only sex education programs. These programs do not dispense any information about contraceptives, pregnancy, or STDs, and studies show these programs do not actually increase abstinence among high school students. Maybe it increased the sales of purity rings, I don’t know.

Funding for comprehensive sex education can still be compromised due to an amendment to the health care reform bill led by Senator Orrin Hatch, that would:

revive a separate $50 million grant-making program for abstinence-only programs run by states. Democratic leaders must see that this is stricken, and warring language that would provide $75 million for state comprehensive sex education programs should remain.

***
An editorial from the National Journal discusses Duke University’s revised sexual misconduct policy, whose revisions sought to protect those that might be accused of false rape charges.

Duke’s rules define sexual misconduct so broadly and vaguely as to include any sexual activity without explicit “verbal or nonverbal” consent, which must be so “clear” as to dispel “real or perceived power differentials between individuals [that] may create an unintentional atmosphere of coercion” (emphasis added).
The disciplinary rules deny the accused any right to have an attorney at the hearing panel or to confront his accuser. The rules also give her — but not him — the right to be treated with “sensitivity”; to make opening and closing statements; and to receive copies of investigative documents.

Let’s try to remember that the purpose of sexual assault policies is to protect the assaulted, first and foremost. Taylor seems incredulous at the notion that some of the revisions were due to “politically correct ideology more than by any surge in sexual assaults.” Uhh… and? Would it be more beneficial to wait for a surge of sexual assaults before any changes are made?

***
A judge prolonged a restraining order that blocks the implementation of a law that would require doctors to post sensitive information about nameless abortion patients– it would have included a “woman’s age, race, education, marital status, and reason for seeking an abortion.”

The reasons behind the initial law? To collate the reasons women obtain abortions in order to prevent them. Abortion is an incredibly sensitive and personal decision; no law should require doctors to collect sensitive information to post on a website. Anyway, collecting abortion statistics while women are in the process of obtaining one hardly seems like an effective way to prevent future unwanted pregnancies.
As the entry states, sex education is more beneficial; as are tackling other more complex issues some women seek abortions, such as failed birth control methods, poverty or lack of support.

***

Finally, a disturbing montage of clips in which pundits (right wing, in this case) use rape as a metaphor. Excessive taxes = rape, nuh uh.

Stupak-Pitts spirit “will” be in the final Bill

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Many cheered and celebrated when the Nelson-Hatch amendment was tabled on Dec 8th (defeated in other words), 54 to 45. However, don’t hold your breath for too long. Friday (today) Senate Majority Leader Reid is set to release his managers amendment to the health care bill which is likely to have a new version (different as it stands in Senate currently and from Stupak-Pitts) of anti-choice language attached to it, to please some anti-choice Senators.  If my prediction is wrong it will surface in conference (when S and H reconcile their differences then vote again on the final version of the bill) after the Senate passes the current bill. Democrats are far from as homogeneous as the Republicans, causing quite the headache for Reid who is negotiating off the floor to obtain the 60 votes he needs to obtain cloture (which moves the vote forward by closing debate)…which has led him to make these awful deals in the first place.

Senator Nelson is holding out, and whether or not you believe he will flip the vote if he does not get his anti-choice language, the Senate and White House are not taking chances. I am sure you read what Lieberman got for threatening to vote down the bill (<— I’m not a fan, by the way). Every Senator in the Senate is equally important in the current make up of the Senate because 1 Nay by a Dem will stall the bill (it will be fillibustered).

I am fairly certain they will have their vote to pass the health care bill on Christmas Eve. It is already too late for a fair bill that will really bring forth reform (sigh) not to mention we have thrown women under the bus in the process.

Unfortunately, Democrats have taken the notion that any bill getting passed is better than nothing. Howard Dean wrote a good op-ed piece the other day, I suggest you read it. A part of me is leaning towards agreeing with Dean. If we dont kill this bill we are bound for failure. We are giving the health insurance companies a bailout. We are requiring an individual mandate (you are a criminal for not having health insurance) while not offering a public option as a choice. Either way, pass or not, premiums will rise, and if it passes…well you know who will be blamed for playing with the fire in the first place.

The spirit of Stupak-Pitts will be in the final bill, maybe not the exact language, but unfortunately there are a lot of anti-choice reps in congress and special interests who lobby and pay for campaigns (allowing them to run this country). If you are pro-choice, we need your support in 2010. And I mean real support, getting out into the field, raising $$$, educating, etc…or we face a repeat of Clinton in 1994 when the GOP took control of office and nothing was passed again under Clinton administration.

Sorry for the grim blog post—I won’t go onto financial “reform” but that chapter is a lot worse off…

Firsthand Account puts Intersectionality into Perspective

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If you have been following our blog, you may have noticed the theme of “intersectionality” popping up regularly. When I first learned about the existence and meaning of this word earlier this year, I thought I clearly understood what it meant. However, it was not until recently until I truly realized the meaning and importance of the word. It was easy for me to grasp how race and class are almost always inextricably linked, but it look a little extra thinking to realize how sexism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination often work together.

Today on Womanist-Musings there is a guest post that originally appeared on the Tufts Survivors of Sexual Violence site. I think it can be very useful for putting intersectionality into perspective and easier to comprehend. A survivor who is not only a woman, but of colour, first-generation American, and in a socioeconomic class that provided little power or resources. All of these identities caused multiple oppressions to work simultaneously.

Can all of this be immediately and easily eliminated? No; but if you look at “What Makes A Better Sexual Assault Policy?” it is very feasible to have a policy that can fight the reinforcement of oppressions. Intersectionality is brought up in not only one,  but two sections:

  • Fairness: All services should be available to students regardless of gender, ethnic background, income, disability, identity, or sexual orientation. All disciplinary procedures should be fair and impartial.
  • Prevention and Education: Policies should include meaningful efforts at education of students in the dynamics of sexual assault, the effects it has on survivors, and the many factors that allow it to continue. They should focus on preventing violence by perpetrators and engaging the whole school community in a stand against sexual violence. They should not blame victims, focus on women’s behavior, or repeat rape myths. These efforts should challenge sexism, homophobia, racism and other oppressions rather than reinforcing or ignoring them.

Part of being an anti-violence activist is not only including a diverse group of people in your movement, but also constantly trying to understand the discriminations that your fellow activists may have to face.