NOW has been saying all along that the NFL doesn’t have a Ray Rice problem, it has a violence against women problem. An independent judge has called Goodell’s leadership an “admitted failure” and NOW could not agree more. NOW continues to call for Goodell’s resignation and for his successor to conduct a top-to-bottom, comprehensive, independent investigation into the NFL’s response to domestic violence incidents.
Marissa Alexander’s plea deal provides a large measure of relief to her family and her supporters in Florida and around the globe. But it is not the justice she deserved. She should never have been prosecuted in the first place.
Survivors of rape continuously face disbelief, blame, and silence when they attempt to share their stories. The cases that have unfolded around Bill Cosby are no different. As a society, we need to hold accountable all perpetrators of sexual violence – including those with celebrity status – and believe the stories of victims and survivors. We must continue to work to provide support for victims and survivors of sexual assault, seek justice for the crimes committed against them and work through education and prevention efforts to combat the problem of sexual violence and dismantle rape culture.
My worldview has completely shifted over the past couple years, not in a vast, lumbering way, but in degrees of nuance, in understanding of the experience of others. And I have the people I follow on Twitter to thank…They’re not activists or radicals or humorless prudes. They’re just women.
Last week, students at universities across the country stood in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault on a day of action for a movement called Carrying That Weight Together.