The Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (WCSAP) is a non-profit organization that strives to unite agencies engaged in the elimination of sexual violence. WCSAP provides information, training and expertise to program and individual members who support victims, family and friends, the general public, and all those whose lives have been affected by sexual assault.
The new website is launched!
What have we done? Many things, some of them obvious, others a bit more hidden.
Here is a list of the major changes:
Like many of you, here at WCSAP we spent much of yesterday and this morning watching the judicial committee hearings. Unfortunately, what we have watched is members of our government systematically fail survivors, again. It is unacceptable that we still live in a culture where survivors have their motives questioned, are accused of lying, and shamefully put on trial to defend themselves.
When #MeToo first went viral in Fall of 2017, many of us questioned if it would lead to meaningful change. Since then, we have witnessed a developing national conversation on the role that sexual violence plays in our lives and social interactions. The trial of Bill Cosby has shown us that survivor’s voices are powerful. His sentencing marks the end of the first celebrity trial since the beginning of #MeToo movement.
While his friend watched, she said, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it. When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth.
On June 26th, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled to uphold the Administration’s travel ban from Muslim majority countries. The past several months of anti-immigrant rhetoric emboldens microagressions, discrimination, sexual violence, and hate crime against Latinx and Muslim communities. It invigorates white supremacist ideals and endangers all Communities of Color.
We are deeply disappointed, angry, frustrated, and saddened by the court decision.
Recent immigration policy and detention practices are unacceptable. Separating children from their parents, their brothers, and sisters is cruel and inhumane. At WCSAP we are horrified to read the news, to see the photographs, and to know that this is happening right now at the border and in facilities all over our country.
WCSAP is deeply concerned about the announcement from Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stating that the Department intends to rescind Title IX sexual assault guidelines and create a new Title IX process. No action has been taken yet. In her announcement, she criticized the Dear Colleague letter, which we support.
We spent time together at our staff meeting today. It was our first opportunity to be present with each other around the bigotry and terror that happened in Charlottesville over the weekend. We write this statement as a staff together. There are no words that can articulately describe our fear, sadness, and outrage; while at the same time, we find ourselves overwhelmed with the amount there is to be said.
The impact of anti-immigrant sentiment nationally and recent White House directives to Immigration and Customs Enforcement has had a chilling effect on immigrant survivors of sexual and domestic violence. WCSAP holds that immigrants of any status are valued for their personhood and their contributions to our communities. Immigrant survivors need access to justice and to reach out for support when other aspects of their lives are not safe.
