Tallahassee, FL – On November 6, over 30 students held a sit-in at a Sigma Lambda Beta’s multicultural fraternity informational meeting. The students and allies of the survivors gathered at the Sigma Lamda Beta meeting to protest its alleged conduct and defense of members accused of committing sexual assault.

Junior Melissa Carcamo, a survivor of rape, spoke on the importance of the sit-in, stating “I felt really anxious the whole day and when I got in there everything calmed down. It was like this is where I’m supposed to be right now.”

Carcamo largely organized and led the protest after her messages and responses were ignored by the fraternity when she accused Sigma Lambda Beta member Nicarao Estrada of rape. “I just want to put the pieces together. You can’t undo what happened to me, but you can take a weight off my shoulder, you can give me one less thing to stay up at night wondering, you can give me a reason to live.”

When protesters entered Globe auditorium, Carcamo confronted Sigma Lambda Beta Chapter President Alex Alvarado. The survivor asked why the organization ignored her previous attempts to redress her grievance against the perpetrator. She continued, “You can give me an answer and we’ll leave. This is a peaceful protest, we’re not here to riot, we’re not here to start a fight, we want dialogue.”

Alvarado responded, “The reason why it was so hard for me to help you back then is because I have my own traumas that I have experienced.” He went on to say that he wouldn’t allow Carcamo to continue to “attack him publicly” and “put him in that position.” After back and forth confrontation with the protesters, Alvaredo decided to cancel the fraternity meeting and reschedule another time. The fraternity left the space and refused to answer any follow-up questions from protesters.

Carcamo hopes that other survivors feel empowered to come forward. “I’m hoping that all of this, all this noise, can get someone to come forward, because we just need one more person to come forward at least Beta-wise and they can be shut down,” said Carcamo.

Carcamo went on to state that she hopes this sit-in inspires others to continue actions like this. “I started the fire, I need somebody else to keep it going.”

#TallahasseeFL #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #FloridaStateUniversity #rapeCulture #SigmaLamdaBeta

Minneapolis, MN – On October 4, youth and community members across the country participated in a national day of action to protest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and to support survivors of sexual violence. Organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), more than 50 people gathered at the University of Minnesota's Coffman Memorial Union, while more than 3000 people gathered in Washington D.C. and scores of cities across the country, to protest Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

While Republicans in the U.S. Senate appear to want to push through the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh, students and community members rallied to demonstrate the illegitimacy of a process that fails to grapple with credible accusations of sexual assault and to stand with survivors of sexual violence.

Speakers from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Anti-War Committee (AWC), and Black Lives Matter – Saint Paul spoke alongside Erin Murphy, a progressive gubernatorial hopeful in Minnesota's DFL primary race and politician who has consistently championed 'affirmative consent' laws in the state and on campuses.

Attendees were appalled that Kavanaugh is being pushed through the confirmation process with so little attention to his problematic history – which involves his participation in a much maligned fraternity at Yale – a fraternity which was also sanctioned at the U of MN as a result of a sexual assault in 2010 – and the fact that Kavanaugh represents a stark, reactionary agenda.

Skyler Dorr, with Students for a Democratic Society, said “The FBI won’t stop Kavanaugh. Senators like Lindsey Graham won’t stop Kavanaugh. So who here will? All of us. We’ll follow Students for a Democratic Society’s national lead and protest every day in every corner of this country to say ‘We believe survivors!’”

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #UniversityOfMinnesota #rapeCulture #DonaldTrump #BrettKavanaugh

While the #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc social media campaigns have brought attention to sexual violence, it is important to understand the roots of the problem, including that violence against women reinforces and intensifies the oppression that women face in this society. Men like Harvey Weinstein receive relatively lenient punishments due to their class status. Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was released from prison after a measly six-month sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. President Donald Trump, who has had multiple accusations of sexual assault against him and openly admitted it through the infamous “Grab her by the p*ssy” quote, was still able to get elected. Meanwhile, prisons are filled disproportionately with Black and Latino men, and they are also more likely to be wrongfully convicted.

Some of the responses to the campaign have been troubling. The issue has also been deemed “unimportant” and a “distraction from the real issues.” There has been a tendency to view it only as a sectarian weapon and make excuses for liberals engaged in the same behaviors.

While sexual violence against celebrities is what’s getting media attention, it is an issue that directly affects working class and oppressed nationality people as well. It is important to remember those who are most affected by rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment, and to combat it in our workplaces and our movements. It is the working-class women afraid to speak up for fear of losing their job. It is the migrant workers who face deportation if they try to speak to the authorities. It is Native American women have the highest numbers of rape and sexual assault of any nationality. It is the victims of prison rape, where the population is disproportionately black and Latinx. It is the people of oppressed nations who are sexually degraded at the hands of the U.S. war machine. It is LGTBQIA+ women and gender nonconforming who face higher rates of hate-motivated sexual assault. It most strongly affects people who do not have the financial needs to stand up to their attackers.

Turn a #hashtag into a movement to overthrow the system that enables predators and silences victims. Start a dialogue, but fight for tangible victories against sexual violence. Organize your union to combat sexual violence in your workplace. Demand protections for undocumented women who are sexually assaulted. We must continue to struggle against patriarchy and strikes blow against the capitalist system. Ultimately socialism will be the beginning of the end of women’s oppression, in the meantime we can fight to win all we can.

#NewYorkNY #Socialism #LGBTQ #PeoplesStruggles #rape #rapeCulture #KevinSpacey #MeToo #BalanceTonPorc #HarveyWeinstein #SexualAssault #Harassment

While the #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc social media campaigns have brought attention to sexual violence, it is important to understand the roots of the problem, including that violence against women reinforces and intensifies the oppression that women face in this society. Men like Harvey Weinstein receive relatively lenient punishments due to their class status. Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was released from prison after a measly six-month sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. President Donald Trump, who has had multiple accusations of sexual assault against him and openly admitted it through the infamous “Grab her by the p*ssy” quote, was still able to get elected. Meanwhile, prisons are filled disproportionately with Black and Latino men, and they are also more likely to be wrongfully convicted.

Some of the responses to the campaign have been troubling. The issue has also been deemed “unimportant” and a “distraction from the real issues.” There has been a tendency to view it only as a sectarian weapon and make excuses for liberals engaged in the same behaviors.

While sexual violence against celebrities is what’s getting media attention, it is an issue that directly affects working class and oppressed nationality people as well. It is important to remember those who are most affected by rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment, and to combat it in our workplaces and our movements. It is the working-class women afraid to speak up for fear of losing their job. It is the migrant workers who face deportation if they try to speak to the authorities. It is Native American women have the highest numbers of rape and sexual assault of any nationality. It is the victims of prison rape, where the population is disproportionately black and Latinx. It is the people of oppressed nations who are sexually degraded at the hands of the U.S. war machine. It is LGTBQIA+ women and gender nonconforming who face higher rates of hate-motivated sexual assault. It most strongly affects people who do not have the financial needs to stand up to their attackers.

Turn a #hashtag into a movement to overthrow the system that enables predators and silences victims. Start a dialogue, but fight for tangible victories against sexual violence. Organize your union to combat sexual violence in your workplace. Demand protections for undocumented women who are sexually assaulted. We must continue to struggle against patriarchy and strikes blow against the capitalist system. Ultimately socialism will be the beginning of the end of women’s oppression, in the meantime we can fight to win all we can.

#NewYorkNY #Socialism #LGBTQ #PeoplesStruggles #rape #rapeCulture #KevinSpacey #MeToo #BalanceTonPorc #HarveyWeinstein #SexualAssault #Harassment

Many women, like myself, have experienced profound flashbacks to times when we were sexually assaulted. These flashbacks have been triggered by the comments of right wing commentators who call these charges “made up” and who call women who speak out “media whores”. But these instances of PTSD have also been triggered by those who denounce this national conversation as a “distraction.”

This is a key moment in the national discussion about gender relations and women’s oppression. When I was in college Anita Hill went on national television to accuse Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment and began a similar national conversation. Before 1991 many of us had no language for what we experienced and did not feel we had community support to challenge the sexual harassment we faced. When I was in college in the 1990s we were just starting to have a conversation about consent and date rape. But this conversation has deepened over the past 20 years and now we have created an understanding that yes means yes and about what is really needed for consent.

I have learned a lot from this generation of student activists about the importance of naming aspects of rape culture. I would have benefited from this analysis as a college student. When I was propositioned and touched by a man who was using his power over me I didn’t have words to describe what had happened to me but I was fortunate that when I did finally tell someone what happened she believed me and got me help so I could get out of that situation.

Through my discussions with women the past two weeks it is apparent that almost every woman I know has experienced some form of sexual harassment and assault. This makes sense when you consider that one in four women are raped in college and nine in ten of them knew their rapist. Such a prevalence of severe sexual assault requires an environment steeped in all levels of it.

As our awareness of the severity of the problem has grown, we are increasingly dismayed by the lack of progress in combatting it in the general population. Many of us have been shocked at the recent treatment of rapists by the American ‘judicial system’ and have wanted there to be a much larger understanding of the messages boys and girls receive that promote rape.

Now, while everyone in the U.S. is talking about Trump’s bragging that he sexually assaults women, is a critical moment. Women across the country are telling their stories about sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape – many for the first time – in order to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of rape culture. Men have the opportunity to denounce Trump and rape culture and to demand more respect for women. We must seize this chance to reshape our society’s cultural norms.

Some people have made a significant error. Those who view the national outrage around sexual assault “a distraction” during this presidential election are siding against women’s liberation. The issue of sexual assault is more important than who wins the presidential election. Whoever is elected, Clinton or Trump, will continue the war on terror and provide significant barriers to the people’s movements for social justice. For the most part the ruling class, even before these debates, had lined up for Clinton and the election results have been decided. However, the national discussion around rape culture has the potential to transform women’s lives and to bring a real awareness to the struggle for women’s liberation in a way I have rarely seen.

I urge everyone to struggle for women’s liberation in the activism they do – whether that’s in the anti-war movement, student organizing, immigrant rights, the Black lives matter movement, the labor movement, the environmental movement, etc. One way that we can do this is by denouncing Trump’s attempt to normalize sexual assault and to make it a priority to support the women we organize with. Sexual assault is not just a women’s issue, but a societal one. At this important juncture, when women speak out about their experiences, we need to listen to them, believe them, support them and recognize the importance of the discussion.

Meredith Aby-Keirstead is a frequent contributor to Fight Back News and a leader in the anti-war movement in Minneapolis, MN.

#MinneapolisMN #rapeCulture #Elections #DonaldTrump

Gainesville, FL – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a banner-signing event, asking students to pledge to stand against rape and sexual violence both on and off campus. SDS also provided literature on consent and ways for students to help prevent sexual assault. By the end of the day, around 50 students had signed the pledge banner.

The event comes just weeks after the latest in a string of sexual assaults on and around the University of Florida (UF) campus. The event was in response to a UF Student Government event, asking students to sign a pledge to “Never Walk Alone.” An SDS organizer explained, “Such language puts blame on victims of sexual violence and does nothing to address the true cause of sexual assault.”

The anti-rape banner had the hashtags #ItsNotGreatUF and #WeAreAware, playing off of and satirizing the hashtags, #ItsGreatUF and #BeAware, that UF Student Government used during their event.

Every hour, during the 15-minute class change period, SDS members made short speeches to crowds of students while handing out flyers about consent. Using humor and sarcasm to win over students, SDSers leafleted the “10 Top Tips to End Rape.” Including tips such as, “6. Use the buddy system! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.”

Farah Khan, lead organizer with SDS said “I think this type of event is necessary as it’s quite obvious that UF and UFPD have no interest in targeting the actual problem we have here: rape culture and patriarchy.”

McKenzie Walker, an SDS member, noted, “Despite the negative responses from some men, those that signed gave us hope. There is a strata of men on campus who want to end, rather than fuel, rape culture and share their support with others.”

#GainesvilleFL #StudentMovement #SDS #GainesvilleSDS #antirape #rapeCulture

Tallahassee, FL – Over 30 Florida State University (FSU) students and Tallahassee community members gathered on campus to speak out and march against rape culture on April 12. The F-Word (a feminist campus organization), Students for a Democratic Society and Dream Defenders organized the rally.

Protesters marched from Oglesby Union to Landis Green, a popular hangout spot for students.

Representatives from the Center for Participant Education, The Outlet (a mental health non-profit) and Advocates for Immigrant and Refugee Rights spoke at the rally. The speakers educated the crowd by defining rape culture and acquaintance rape, describing how to be an ally to survivors, the effect of rape culture on African-American, Latina and other oppressed nationality women, and how immigrants are oppressed by rape culture. A spoken word artist captured everyone’s attention with a passionate piece about sexual assault.

The rally was part of Rape Culture Awareness Week, sponsored by the FSU groups, including the Women’s Student Union. The purpose of the rally was to raise people’s consciousness about rape culture, which is a society that permits rape to occur through gendered socialization, victim blaming and slut shaming. The F-Word tabled with resources from the Refuge House, a domestic violence shelter; the Victim Advocate Program, a campus center for survivors of sexual assault and a resource list of local and national organizations.

“My parents taught my sister how to protect herself from rape, but never sat me down and taught me not to rape,” said Andrew Arachikavitz, lead coordinator for Students for a Democratic Society.

Maressa Simmons, a member of The F-Word, stated, “I went because rape is a crime that can affect anyone at any time; and hoped to raise awareness about what rape is and its effects on everyone.”

Students for a Democratic Society and The F-Word hope to partner up in the fall for a campaign against rape culture.

#TallahasseeFL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #womensMovement #antirape #rapeCulture #feminism #TheFWord