NSVRC Blogs

At this year’s National Sexual Assault Conference®, NSAC, (which we co-sponsored), we watched as many plenary speakers took the event’s theme, Equity in Action, to speak to the many ways in which our movement must work to make our research, prevention, and services truly equitable in their mission. We have taken some excerpts of their speeches that have showcased their observations of racial history, equity, and progress, as their perspectives are vital to this issue of The Resource, our work, and this movement at large. “Policing, the criminal justice system, and the child welfare system

This is the second excerpt of a two-part interview. Be sure to read the first part here.  5. In 2014, your hashtag #YouOkSis went viral after you intervened with the phrase to a woman who had just been harassed on the street. How fulfilling was it for you to see your own hashtag spark discussion and make people think more critically about the gender-based harassment Black women experience daily? I definitely think it has been one of the most enduring hashtags. That started in 2014, and people still talk about it almost ten years later. I think that it gave people almost a blueprint for how to

This is the first excerpt of a two-part interview. Be sure to read the second part here.  1. Black Twitter has been largely responsible for being the cultural shaker for prominent online and in-person social movements like #OscarsSoWhite, #BlackLivesMatter, and #MeToo. In your opinion, why do you believe Black Twitter is so powerful in shifting online conversation? I think Black Twitter has one of the most cohesive community vibes. When we think about different factions of Twitter, I think you could see people associated with those sections. You have right-wing, liberal, all of those things

According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey of 2015, 1 in 5 women are victims of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. The majority of sexual assault victims choose not to report. While the research on the prevalence of sexual violence and reporting in Muslim communities is limited, studies indicate that the prevalence of sexual violence in Muslim communities is similar, or slightly higher. Moreover, there is reason to believe that the likelihood of choosing not to report sexual violence is significantly higher in communities of faith and color. Given that

This is the second excerpt of a two-part interview. Be sure to read the first part here.  6. In addition to race, LGBT+ Latinx survivors face the intersection of two forms of oppression, impacting whether or not they feel cared for by the larger community they live in. What methods should be used to make them feel affirmed and cared for as they tell their story and seek help? I think that one of the most important things, particularly when we talk about supporting migrant and rural community members of all backgrounds, is that they often come from small communities. When people come from very

This is the first excerpt of a two-part interview. Be sure to read the second part here. 1. If a Spanish-speaking Latinx survivor wishes to seek help, sometimes they will find that in their communities (particularly rural ones that are under-resourced) they are living in an information desert lacking in Spanish-translated materials. How does Justice For Migrant Women reach out to these people? So for a lot of survivors who speak languages other than English, it can be a real challenge to find information and resources in their language. Spanish is actually one of the languages where there are

This is the second excerpt of a two-part interview. Be sure to read first part here. Trigger Warning: Discussion of slavery, medical sexual violence, sex trafficking of minors Note to Readers: The slavery of African Americans in the United States is undeniably one of the most reprehensible parts of American history. The institution of slavery justified, legitimized, and legalized the repeated horrendous abuse against women and children for a century. At NSVRC, we recognize that, as difficult as history may be to learn about, it is our duty to do so. We reached out to Dr. Crystal Feimster for

This is the first excerpt of a two-part interview. Be sure to part two here. Trigger Warning: Discussion of slavery, medical sexual violence, sex trafficking of minors Note to Readers: The slavery of African Americans in the United States is undeniably one of the most reprehensible parts of American history. The institution of slavery justified, legitimized, and legalized the repeated horrendous abuse against women and children for a century. At NSVRC, we recognize that, as difficult as history may be to learn about, it is our duty to do so. We reached out to Dr. Crystal Feimster for her

This is the second excerpt of a two-part interview. Be sure to read the first part here.  4. When an American Indian woman or girl goes missing due to sex trafficking, are there differences in the process of reporting to law enforcement on tribal and non-tribal lands? I don’t believe so, and rarely does a family member feel like identifying that she’s being trafficked. Homegrown trafficking is the most common type of trafficking, for over 80% of people being trafficked, it’s homegrown. It could mean a domestic partner. It could be a family member. So I think that when a woman is reported

This is the first excerpt of a two-part interview. Be sure to read the second part here.  1. It wasn’t until 1999 that the Department of Justice released crime data relating to American Indian people. How has this deficit in data collection impacted indigenous organization’s ability to advocate for their cause? Have you/your organization noticed any changes since that data collection has expanded and been more common? So I started at the agency in August of 2020, which was long after the data collection happened. However, I do think that there are some challenges that still exist in terms of