Forum Post: Transforming Harm & Building Safety: Confronting Sexual Violence At Occupy Wall Street & Beyond
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 4, 2011, 2:42 p.m. EST by a1exander
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Transforming Harm & Building Safety: Confronting Sexual Violence At Occupy Wall Street & Beyond
Statement by members of sexual assault survivor’s support 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. ...
**The full statement is too long for this forum. It (and a list of resources) can be found at:
Maybe we should start taking turns guarding and encourage people to bring dogs.
Also I hope people are not encouraging others to share tents. That's just stupid.
She should sue OWS
They have all that money and failed to provide adequate security
Having represented that the Park was a community, and shunning police, they provided and created an environment in which this was possible.
She should sue