Forum Post: Zuccotti Kitchen Volunteer arrested for sexual assault 11/2
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 3, 2011, 12:53 p.m. EST by Frustrated39
(75)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Is there anything being done to actually protect women there? Besides getting them 2 tents?
http://news.yahoo.com/kitchen-volunteers-sex-assault-arrest-shocks-zuccotti-park-215348689.html
I was astounded to see that the Baltimore Occupy Group originally was advocating handling this sort of thing internally instead of notifying authorities. It appears they have changed their stance since the Baltimore Sun did a write-up about a flyer they were handing out, but it makes you wonder how much of this is occurring without being reported.
Not minimizing what has happened in this case, because rape is a crime of violence and wanting power over another person, they just use sex as the tool in their act.
There will be some media people who say, well if most of the people there are having sex in the tents, these things will happen. If people think 'free love' is back from the 60's, they will try to get some of that. That is human nature, this article below is why I think there needs to be some policies for those who want to feel safe in their tent, regardless of it people are having wild adventures in the western section of the park.
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/10/24/occupy-wall-street-sex-at-zuccotti-park/
FIrstly, Please see my extensive post about the need for official Media spokespeople responding to Media events.
Next, to answer your question, there are things that can be done as a community watch group.
1.Have tentmates take turns outside the tent providing tent security.
2.Have all occupiers outfitted with whistles and guidelines set up on when to use them, who will respond if they are used. Have regular community watch patrols.
Everyone should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
Anyone who is involved in an incident must receive the medical and psychological supportive services to deal with the situation. The psychological effects of assault are not resolved quickly and have long term lasting effect. Recognize that and do not expect people to get over it, or say, what's the big deal, or how is it different than if you had sex with someone else (if the person is someone you know). Once someone is violated, they don't get over it. They can become less sensitized to their trauma, and go on with their lives, but they will not be as they were before that happened.