To end rape culture
N.C.-based coalition calls march
By
Tyneisha Bowens
Raleigh, N.C.
Published Apr 1, 2007 11:57 PM
On March 13, 2006, a woman of color who is a mother, veteran, honor student and
sex worker was raped and sodomized in Durham, N.C. The survivor was assaulted
at a party thrown by members of the Duke University lacrosse team. She and
another entertainer were hired to dance at the party and instead were subjected
to sexual assault and racial slurs.
She reported the assault shortly after the incident. Instead of being believed
and supported, this survivor was faced with accusations, blame and disbelief,
like so many survivors before her. Communities were shaken by the event and the
responses that followed. Frustrations built and the country was divided over
details of the assault instead of being united to combat rape culture as a
whole. Many of the accused perpetrators, who are white males, have since been
welcomed back to Duke University and the lacrosse team. Some these men are seen
as victims of false accusations and slander, taking the focus off of the
survivor and the assault itself.
A little more than a year after the infamous Duke lacrosse rape case, a
coalition of eight organizations in North Carolina are working together to
create a world free from sexual violence and all other forms of oppression.
A march, entitled “Creating a World Without Sexual Violence, National Day
of Truthtelling,” is to take place in Durham, N.C., on April 28. The
organizations responsible for this day of action are Raleigh FIST (Fight
Imperialism, Stand Together), UBUNTU, Men Against Rape Culture, SpiritHouse,
Southerners On New Ground, Independent Voices, Black Workers For Justice and
the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Messages of the day include “We Believe Survivors” and “End
Rape Culture”. The coalition leading this effort to end rape culture is
led mostly by survivors, women of color and individuals who are or once were in
the sex work industry. This dynamic is to address how one cannot battle sexual
violence without understanding the influence of racism, sexism, imperialism and
capitalism on rape culture.
Organize within your community to join this effort to bring rape culture to an
end on April 28 in Durham, N.C. For more information, including how to endorse
this event, visit [email protected] or email the coalition at
[email protected]
The writer is a member of the Raleigh FIST—Fight Imperialism, Stand
Together—youth group.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
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