UltraViolet Action

Campaigns

• Shame on CNN: Apologize for Steubenville coverage.

  Yesterday a guilty verdict was handed down in the Steubenville rape case, where a 16-year-old girl was raped repeatedly by boys on a high school football team. The verdict was the beginning of justice for this brave young girl, but CNN's coverage was awful. The entire CNN panel, including Candy Crowley, reporter Poppy Harlow and legal analyst Paul Callan focused on what a tragedy this was for the boys and what a shame it was that their lives had been ruined. It was as if the rape was some sort of unfortunate accident and they hadn't committed a very serious, invasive, and, for the survivor, life-altering crime. CNN didn't focus on what this verdict meant for Jane Doe. It only focused on sad reflections of the "destroyed" lives of these boys that were caught raping a girl. This is wrong and CNN owes us all an apology. Can you add your name to the petition?

  131,509 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet
• 

  Pass the Women’s Health Protection Act

  UPDATE: The House of Representatives has passed the Women's Health Protection Act! Call on the Senate to do the same. SCOTUS has let the most extreme abortion ban in the nation go into effect in Texas. This law bans abortion at 6-weeks before most people even know they are pregnant and puts a 10k bounty on those who seek to help people receive the abortion care they need. If SCOTUS won't step up, we need Congress to act. Congress must immediately pass the Women's Health Protection Act. The Women’s Health Protection Act, which was just reintroduced in Congress, would stop the Republican onslaught of anti-abortion and abortion-restrictive legislation coming out of state legislatures across the country. It would block states from creating barriers to care and would protect health service providers' ability to offer abortion care. Sign our petition now and tell Congress to protect an individual’s right to choose.

  225,510 of 300,000 Signatures

  Created by Shaunna Thomas, Ultraviolet
• Demand an end to rape culture. Remove Judge Aaron Persky now.

  Judge Aaron Persky sentenced convicted rapist Brock Allen Turner to just six months in county jail and probation after he was found guilty of raping an unconscious woman outside of a fraternity party on the Stanford campus. In his remarks at sentencing, Judge Persky justified this light sentence out of concern for Turner's future and the impact the verdict will have on his life. As a Stanford graduate, I'm disgusted that this rape occurred and I am outraged by Judge Persky's lenient sentence. Rapists must be held accountable for their actions, and judges who refuse to hold them accountable must be removed from the bench. The Committee on Judicial Performance has the authority to remove a judge. If enough of us speak out and demand justice, we can ensure judges like Judge Persky must value the life of the woman who was raped over the consequences of a just sentence for the rapist.

  217,478 of 300,000 Signatures

  Created by Emily Figdor
• 

  Tell the FDA and State Leaders: Lift abortion restrictions!

  More and more healthcare providers are turning to telemedicine to ensure continued access to health care for patients while reducing the need for patients to travel to receive medical care, risking exposure to coronavirus. Both patients and doctors win in this scenario. Medication abortion, when a pregnant person takes two types of pills that induce an abortion before 10-12 weeks, can also be conducted under the supervision of a physician via telemedicine. It is a safe and effective way to broaden access to abortion care for pregnant people. And yet, 18 states force patients to travel to a clinician's office for medication abortion, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), despite the recommendations of medical experts including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, refuses to lift restrictions on mifepristone, one of the medications needed for medication abortion, that would enable providers to mail it to patients or prescribe it for pickup at a pharmacy. These restrictions are nothing more than ideological, anti-woman excuses to restrict access to abortion. The impact of these restrictions fall disproportionately on women of color, indigenous people, disabled people, and low-income folks. But if enough of us raise our voices and demand the FDA lift restrictions on mifepristone and that state lawmakers expand access to telemedicine for abortion, we can raise enough pressure to force the FDA and state lawmakers to expand access to abortion care and allow telemedicine!

  1,992 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by SONJA SPOO
• Judge Aaron Persky Must Resign Now!

  Brock Allen Turner, a Stanford University student, was convicted of raping an unconscious woman on the Stanford campus after two graduate students found him on top of the woman, behind a dumpster, outside of a fraternity party. But California Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to just six months in a county jail. As a Stanford graduate, I am disgusted that this rape occurred, and I am outraged by Judge Persky's sentence. Instead of justice, Judge Persky handed convicted rapist Brock Allen Turner the lightest possible sentence for raping an unconscious woman, saying that prison would have “a severe impact on [Turner].” It's worth noting that Turner’s father had called on the judge to give him only probation, saying he had already “paid a steep price" for “20 minutes of action." This rape culture cannot continue. Rapists must be held accountable for their actions, and judges who refuse to do so must resign. There is precedent for calling for a judge's resignation: Back in 2013, when Judge G. Todd Baugh sentenced a former high school teacher to just 30 days in prison for repeatedly raping a 14-year-old student, MoveOn member Kate Olp started a petition calling on the judge to resign. After thousands of MoveOn members and allies joined Kate's call, the Montana Judicial Standards Commission filed a formal complaint against the judge, and he ultimately did not seek re-election. Will you stand with me, just as MoveOn members stood with Kate Olp, and speak out against rape culture by calling for Judge Persky to resign?

  2,990 of 3,000 Signatures

  Created by Emily Figdor
• Recall Judge James P. McClusky

  A New York judge just let a child rapist off with no jail time and—unbelievably—justified it by saying he "only" raped one girl. "Only" one—these are the words of Judge James McClusky. Last week, Judge McClusky sentenced Shane Piche, a school bus driver, to probation and $365 in fines for raping a 14-year-old child he met on his bus route. Judge McClusky cannot be trusted to protect survivors of sexual assault, and he needs to be removed from the bench. This case is getting a ton of attention on social media and in the news, and calls are coming from across the country for the commission on judicial conduct to remove McClusky from his position permanently. According to court records, Piche lured her and other minors to his house, gave them alcohol — and then raped her. It's horrifying that this even needs to be said, but one child raped is too many. Piche was the bus driver responsible for getting his victim to school. He was entrusted with children and instead used his position to rape a young girl. But Judge McClusky didn't even put Piche on the level 2 sex offender registry, because there were not multiple victims. The victim's mother has stated, "I wish Shane Piche would have received time in jail for the harm he caused to my child. He took something from my daughter she will never get back and has caused her to struggle with depression and anxiety." One victim is one too many, and Judge McClusky had a responsibility to hold Piche accountable. Judge McClusky is failing as a justice, and he should be removed from his position immediately.

  131,306 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Shaunna Thomas, UltraViolet
• Rep. Todd Akin must resign

  Victims of "legitimate rape" can't get pregnant because a woman's body will shut down and prevent the pregnancy. Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) actually said that–in other words, he's saying that if a woman does get pregnant, she must not have been raped. Even scarier? He's running, and leading, in the race for Missouri Senate. What he said was bad, but it was hardly a gaffe or poor choice of words. In 2011 he and Rep. Paul Ryan led the push in the House of Representatives to redefine rape as "forcible rape" to further restrict rape survivors' access to abortions. As a state senator, Akin questioned whether anti-marital rape laws would be abused by women in messy divorces Anyone who doesn't understand basic biology and tries to create more hurdles for rape survivors seeking justice doesn't belong in the United States Congress. Sign the petition calling Rep. Akin to resign right away.

  162,778 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Kat Barr, UltraViolet
• Tell NBC and MGM to release the Trump tapes

  If you thought the tape of Donald Trump bragging about sexual assault to NBC's Billy Bush was bad, buckle up. Multiple TV producers say there's worse footage, much worse, of Trump saying sexually predatory and extremely racist things. But NBC is refusing to release the footage. In fact for years now, the network has been protecting Trump. We can force the NBC and MGM, the studio that now owns the unaired footage from Trump's reality TV show, to stop protecting Trump and release the rest of the tapes.

  124,680 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna
• Tell Amazon: Dump Trump

  Despite Donald Trump's sexist, racist comments, Amazon is promoting and profiting from him and his brand. The online behemoth sells Trump's line of menswear--even though companies like Macy's bailed on Trump's brand of hate last year. Trump is inciting violence at his rallies and spewing vitriol that white supremacists like David Duke love. So why is Amazon continuing to support the Trump empire? Many of us use Amazon, and the company has responded to our pressure before over the selling of sexist products. It needs to follow suit when it comes to Trump products. Will you add your name now?

  68,310 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet
• TELL THE USGA + LPGA: DUMP TRUMP!

  The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is holding its most prestigious tournament--the 2017 U.S. Women's Open--at Donald Trump's New Jersey golf resort. Yep, a women's organization wants to give millions in revenue, free advertising and good branding to Donald Trump. It's straight up offensive. And even US senators agree--on October 26, three of them wrote to the head of the US Golf Association (USGA), who is in charge of venue decisions, urging him to refuse to affiliate the tournament with a racist serial sexual predator. Big companies like Uber and Nordstrom have already cut significant ties with Trump. If enough of us speak up and join the mounting pressure, the USGA + LPGA will be forced to move the tournament. Can you sign the petition?

  1,777 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna