Occupy Boston: Take Action Against Misogyny, Rape & Bullying

This block was a culmination of actions and events at Occupy Boston that have made women in particular and marginalized groups in general feel progressively less and less welcome. We the undersigned, while supporting the stated goals of Occupy Boston and the larger Occupy movement, strongly condemn the actions of Occupy Boston's General Assembly (GA) on Sunday, January 8 2012 and ask that Occupy Boston take immediate steps to address those actions and prevent further damage to our community.

Grievances

1. During the GA on January 8th, Paul Shannon, professional rape apologist and the director of Reform Sex Offender Laws (RSOL), a nationally known organization devoted to the dismantling of sex offender laws and sex offender registries, orchestrated a successful block to the proposal for Sexual Assault Awareness at Occupy Boston. Mr. Shannon failed to disclose his affiliation with RSOL to those at the GA, which is a violation of the Occupy Boston's own Statement of Autonomy (http://www.occupyboston.org/2011/11/23/statement-autonomy-consented-11221). He also stated (at the GA during which this proposal was under discussion) that he was "not an expert" and implied he had not had much previous knowledge and had never engaged in previous debate about sex offender laws-- when in fact he tours the country railing against those laws. Mr. Shannon should not be allowed to co-opt and discredit Occupy Boston with his agenda and disregard of community agreements.

2. The Occupy Boston GAs have been host to multiple acts of oppression during, before, and after the GA held on January 8th. Women have been interrupted, talked over, dispossessed of microphones, silenced, publicly shamed, yelled at, told that they were stupid, criticized as parents, and threatened with bodily harm among other egregious acts. Additionally, despite the sensitivity of the subject of the proposal, the Facilitation Working Group selected two men to facilitate the GA in which the Sexual Assault Awareness Proposal was ultimately blocked. It is not enough to acknowledge that there were no women facilitating the discussion or that women and people of other marginalized groups are underrepresented in the Facilitation Working Group. If we want a diversity of members in leadership positions in Occupy Boston we must demonstrate that facilitators, regardless of their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or ability are respected and supported both in the working group and in GAs.

3. Occupy Boston is perpetuating a culture in which survivors and oppressed peoples are repeatedly bullied in extreme and unambiguous ways and in which abusers are acting without fear of consequences. When Occupy Boston blames and refuses to believe victims of assault or threats of assault and their advocates, Occupy Boston perpetuates a culture of silence in which survivors and advocates are afraid to speak up about their experiences or express their opinions on any matter. No one should be treated as badly as these people have been-- especially not by their fellow activists who are part of a progressive movement that is supposed to be focused on justice, compassion, and finding common ground. Occupy Boston must listen to survivors' and advocates' experiences with empathy and respect for their autonomy.

4. Women and members of other traditionally marginalized groups have been repeatedly and viciously vilified for taking principled stands during this proposal process. Both a woman facilitator and the woman who brought forth this proposal are parents of young children they brought to the encampment: they have a particular and compelling interest in the documented presence of at least one convicted child rapist (considered "likely to re-offend", according to the Sex Offender Registry) who was part of the Occupy Boston community-- and who had direct contact with their children. The voices of these women along with the voices of others were vital to this discussion. Not only has Occupy Boston made no move to address their concerns, but individuals from Occupy Boston, including at least one who is in a position of prominence, have publicly chastised them and other members of traditionally marginalized groups for speaking out in the first place. This excoriation continues online, further silencing voices that are integral to our movement.  

5. Occupy Boston is forcing out already marginalized members. Almost one third of the General Assembly (according to Occupy Boston’s own website: http://www.occupyboston.org/2012/01/09/safety-proposal-tabled/) walked out after Paul Shannon's block was successful. This contingent was made up of people of all genders and included key, active and extremely hard-working members of Occupy Boston including members of the Women's Caucus, Media, Logistics, Anti-Oppression, and the Queer and Trans working groups, plus the official live-tweeters and the note-taker. Despite the significant decrease in the assembly's numbers, the facilitators did not call for a quorum check until after passing a new proposal. This action implied that the voices of those activists were not necessary to Occupy Boston’s decision making process.

Demands

We, the undersigned, call on Occupy Boston to hold itself accountable by creating and implementing, immediately, a protocol to address the multiple, pervasive acts and threats of verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual assault that have been committed and will continue to be committed if no action is taken.

Further, we ask that Occupy Boston immediately take the following steps:

1. Add links to resources for victims/survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment to Occupy Boston's website
2. Locate social workers in the movement who are trained and equipped to be points of contact for victims/survivors
3. Develop a sexual assault/harassment complaint form (in digital and hard copies) to be administered by the Sexual Assault Awareness Working Group
4. Hold regular, community-wide sexual assault/sexual harassment awareness and prevention training
5. Act conscientiously by refraining from acts which re-victimize survivors in public forums like GAs
6. Take concrete steps to create a culture in Occupy Boston in which members of the community feel free to speak out against misogyny, sexual harassment, and all forms of assault immediately when witnessed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Now please respond!