We are halfway through the Summer, which means students will be back to school soon. There will be thousands of young people starting college and beginning a new stage in their lives. That is why today we want to give a shout out to some of the most influential #CPGameChangers fighting sexual assault specifically on college campuses. We couldn’t name them all, but here are a few that have created a big impact in the last few years.
Dana Bolger and Alexandra Brodsky: Founders of Know Your IX, a survivor- and youth-led organization that aims to empower students to end sexual and dating violence in their schools. Know Your IX published a 72-page document last month for state lawmakers to help them combat “gender-based violence” and sexual assault. Know Your IX and End Rape On Campus’ Survivors Speak Out organized a movement outside of the Department of Education on Thursday, July 13, along with dozens of other sexual assault survivors, protested Betsy DeVos over concerns about Title IX.
Wagatwe Wanjuki is a feminist activist, writer, speaker, and digital strategist best known for her work as a national campus anti-violence advocate. She’s a founder of the anti-rape organization Survivors Eradicating Rape Culture and is a founding co-organizer of Know Your IX’s ED ACT NOW campaign. Her writing and work has appeared been featured in outlets including MSNBC, The Establishment, ESSENCE magazine, and The New York Times.
S. Daniel Carter has been at the forefront of advancing campus safety and victims’ rights for over 25 years. Carter went on to work for Safe Campuses Now and then the Clery Center for Security On Campus. While at the Clery Center, Carter created the first national program focused exclusively on providing assistance to the victims of campus violence, with a primary focus on sexual violence. This program assisted victims in pursuing their rights on campus under the Clery Act and Title IX. Currently he is President of Safety Advisors for Educational Campuses, LLC.
Annie E. Clark and Andrea Lynn Pino are civil rights activists, and co-founders of the survivor advocacy group End Rape on Campus, where they give voice and counsel to survivors of campus sexual assault all around the country. They were two of five complainants in the 2013 Title IX and Clery Act complaints against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and they became a national leaders in filing this sort of complaint, advising sexual assault victims at universities across the United States.
Princess Harmony Rodriguez is an activist who led the fight for justice at Temple University, challenging her administration for disempowering and not supporting survivors. Princess Harmony fights against the exclusion of People of Color, particularly Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC), in discussions surrounding campus sexual assault.
Dear Colleague Letter issued by U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on April 4, 2011 requires colleges to tighten procedures for dealing with sexual harassment. This was mainly supported by former president Barack Obama, his administration and Vice-president Joe Biden. While the document is described as a clarification, it contains several key shifts. The department is stipulating that the burden of proof required for colleges to take action is less than that required for criminal convictions, and stating that there are specific requirements that apply to colleges for incidents that take place off-campus. The 18-page message describes at length the various ways in which colleges must address and prevent sexual harassment so they are in compliance with Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.
We know and recognize several other organizations, individuals and lawmakersmaking a difference in this fight on and off college campuses. We couldn’t be more thankful for what they do and we will keep on joining forces to create awareness and ultimately a culture shift about sexual violence.
Catharsis Productions
Catharsis Productions' mission is to change the world by producing innovative, accessible and research-supported programming that challenges oppressive attitudes and shifts behavior.