End Rape On Campus is proud to join in solidarity with the organizations leading the March for Black Women. As an anti-violence organization, we know that in order to address sexual assault and interpersonal violence, we must also actively engage in anti-racism work on a daily basis. To that end, EROC will join March for Black Women convenors and partners from Black Women’s Blueprint, the National Women’s Law Center, the D.C. Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence at a press conference on Saturday, September 30 at 9:00am at Seward Square in Washington, D.C. EROC will speak to the importance of allyship and centering marginalized voices in our work.
Black women experience sexual violence at disproportionately high rates, yet are underrepresented in the media conversation: approximately one in 5 Black women experience rape over their lifetime, 60% of Black girls experience sexual abuse by age 18, and about 40% of Black women experience physical abuse by an intimate partner during their lifetime. Recent rollbacks to Title IX will add to the already heightened barriers Black women and girls in schools face when reporting sexual assault. Many experience racism within the very institutions and systems that are supposed to help them, including college reporting processes.
Too often, survivors who are are white, cisgender women are centered at the expense of women of color. We honor the millions of Black women and girls who have experienced sexual violence and whose voices have been silenced and neglected. We also honor the Black women who have historically led, and continue to lead, the movement against sexual violence.
