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Transforming Harm & Building Safety: Confronting Sexual Violence At Occupy Wall Street & Beyond

Statement by members of sexual assault survivor’s team at OWS

Media contact: Jason Ahmadi, 408.529.8683

New York, November 4, 2011: We are writing this statement to inform our fellow occupiers about an incident of sexual assault at Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and the response to it. We are also writing this statement to respond to media accounts that blame the survivor, and that attempt to use this horrific incident to attack OWS. We write this statement as supporters of OWS, as fellow survivors, and as allies.

On the morning of October 29, a woman participating in OWS was sexually assaulted at Liberty Plaza. The person who she identified as having assaulted her was arrested on November 1 for a previous assault.  He has since been released on bail.

On the morning of the assault, the survivor was accompanied to the hospital by a group of women from OWS, including a social worker, to support her and act as advocates. From the moment the incident was discovered to the present time, the survivor has been surrounded by a network of allies and trained advocates offering resources to provide emotional, medical, and legal support. At every step of the process, and in line with the core principles of survivor support, her wishes as to how she wanted to proceed have been honored, and information from a range of sources has been provided to her about her options. The survivor knew immediately that she wanted to make sure that the person who assaulted her did not harm anyone else at OWS. Community members honored this demand by asking that this person stay off site, and, when he refused, monitored his activity, ejected him from the space and escorted him to police custody.

These efforts provided the survivor with the time and space to carefully review the options available to her.  Following two days of discussion with family, friends, supporters, and anti-violence advocates, the survivor decided to make a report to the police and to push for a criminal investigation and prosecution. Supporters from OWS accompanied her to the police station, and will continue to support her throughout the legal process.

We have been saddened and angered to observe some members of the media and the public blame the survivor for the assault. A survivor is never at fault. It is unacceptable to criticize a survivor for the course of action they chose to take or their community for supporting them in that choice. Additionally, we were troubled at the time of her report that responding police officers appeared to be more concerned by her political involvement in OWS than her need for assistance after a traumatic incident of sexual violence. A survivor is not at fault for being assaulted while peacefully participating in a public protest to express their political opinions. We are aware that this is one of several known cases of sexual assault that have occurred at OWS. We are dismayed by these appalling acts and distressed by the fear among many Occupiers that they have caused, as well as their negative impact on our ability to safely participate in public protests. We have the right to participate in peaceful protests without fear of violence.

We are also concerned that segments of the media have attempted to use this incident as another way to disingenuously attack and discredit OWS. It is reprehensible to manipulate and capitalize on a tragedy like this to discredit a peaceful political movement. OWS exists within a broader culture where sexual assault is egregiously common: someone in the US is sexually assaulted every 2 minutes, most assaults are never reported, and most rapists are never held to account.[1] We live in a culture of violence in which sexual assault is often ignored, condoned, excused and even encouraged. We note that it is particularly difficult for survivors of assault at OWS to feel confident in reporting crimes to the NYPD – the NYPD’s unjustifiably aggressive and abusive policing of OWS has undermined trust in the police force amongst protesters.

As individuals and as a community, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to create an alternative to this culture of violence. Advocates, some of whom are survivors themselves, have worked for decades to address sexual violence generally. We are working for an OWS and a world in which survivors are respected and supported unconditionally, where they are supported to come forward, and where every community member takes responsibility for preventing and responding to harm. We are redoubling our efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence. This includes taking preventative measures such as encouraging healthy relationship dynamics and consent practices that can help to limit harm.

We are creating and sharing strategies that educate and transform our community into a culture of consent, safety, and well-being. At OWS, these strategies currently include support circles, counseling, consent trainings, safer sleeping spaces, self-defense trainings, community watch, awareness campaigns, and other evolving community-based processes to address harm. We encourage survivors to connect with support and advocates, and to access medical, legal, and social services, as well as available community-based options, many of which are listed below. We stand together as a community to work towards the prevention of sexual violence and harassment, and to provide unwavering support for anyone who has been assaulted. We commit to creating a culture of visibility, support, and advocacy for survivors, and of accountability for people who have committed harm.

With hope and solidarity,

Members of the survivor’s support team at Occupy Wall Street

signal boost

I’ve had mixed feelings about the Slut Walk movement. It’s exciting to see so many people addressing sexual assault, sexual violence and, more generally, the violent patriarchy. I absolutely believe that our culture needs to immediately cease victim blaming and instead respond with survivor support, perpetrator accountability and address larger sexualized power dynamics that feed assault and violence on individuals. However, I don’t understand how using the language of the oppressor is reclaiming. A case can be made that one is transforming the word, but why not just avoid their language all together? Of course I believe that there is no such thing as “asking for it.” No one asks to be assaulted and dressing “like a slut” never means yes. Yes means yes. I think anyone should be able to dress how they want and be respected, but I don’t want to use their word to fight back. I know it’s difficult to create a new vocabulary, but feminists and queers have invented words before.
I know that we are outraged at how pervasive sexualized violence is in our communities, our home nations and abroad. I know that being “reclaiming” is an abrasive, aggressive approach. I’m not sure if violence or non-violence is the approach to take; that is a separate question, or at least one I’m not taking on right now. I’m angry too. No assault should ever happen and it horrifies me that institutions reinforce it mentally and physically. However, assuming we are responding aggressively, I think that our dissent should be expressed with our words not theirs. I know that SlutWalk has gotten so many people active in feminist protest that haven’t been before. I am both afraid of halting that momentum, but also afraid of long-term damage. Is using the oppressors language a short term approach? And as this quote from the open from Black Women’s Blueprint to SlutWalk expresses is this movement alienating feminists of color? 

We are deeply concerned. As Black women and girls we find no space in SlutWalk, no space for participation and to unequivocally denounce rape and sexual assault as we have experienced it…As Black women, we do not have the privilege or the space to call ourselves “slut” without validating the already historically entrenched ideology and recurring messages about what and who the Black woman is. We don’t have the privilege to play on destructive representations burned in our collective minds, on our bodies and souls for generations. Although we understand the valid impetus behind the use of the word “slut” as language to frame and brand an anti-rape movement, we are gravely concerned.

I know that many women of color and people of color of many sexes and genders are participating in SlutWalk. Of course they may disagree with the ideas Black Women’s Blueprint have put forth. Now, i haven’t read the whole letter yet, but what is implicit in this quote is: Historically, white women are subject to the virgin-whore dichotomy. However this dichotomy does not play out in the same way for women of color. It’s late and I can’t quite remember the stereotype names, (ie. Jezabels) but put simply while white women were not equal with white men (i apologize for speaking in binary reinforcing terms for a moment, but i’m speaking historically. speaking of trans, intersex and queer issues historically is something i’ll save for another rant) they had positive roles to aspire to in the eyes of their male oppressors, for example the good wife, the mother. The roles given to women of color in the eyes of white men were more along the lines of the desexualized older nanny-housekeeper, the whore or the servant-whore. Historically, women of color are given no positive roles to invert in protest. 

 Sexualized violence needs to be addressed. I am not against addressing sexualized violence, but I am conflicted about the language and tactics of SlutWalk. What are your thoughts?! Support or counterpoint, I want to hear it!