UltraViolet Action

Campaigns

• 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.

  124,679 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna
• Stop sexual predator Brett Kavanaugh

  On September 16, Christine Blasey Ford came forward publicly about her experience of being sexually assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Thanks to her bravery, we now know that Kavanaugh, in addition to being a political danger to women, is a sexual predator. Ford’s story is horrifying. During a party in high school, she described how Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, tried to pull off her clothing, and covered her mouth as she tried to scream. Kavanaugh's nomination was already on the rocks before Ford came forward with her story. But now, the outcry over Ford's allegations is putting pressure on every senator to come out against Kavanaugh. In just 24 hours following the release of Ford's story, Republican Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker have joined Democrats in calling for Kavanaugh's nomination to be delayed and a hearing is planned for Monday. We believe survivors and we believe Christine Blasey Ford. We have all the information we need to know Kavanaugh should not be a Supreme Court Justice. If every Democrat and just a few Republicans come out against Kavanaugh's nomination, we have a real chance to stop this man from a lifetime nomination to the Supreme Court. Send the Senate a clear message: Brett Kavanaugh has no place on the Supreme Court of the United States.

  95,100 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Shaunna Thomas, UltraViolet Action
• 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 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?

  68,309 of 75,000 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. The Supreme Court's hearing this week has positioned it to strike down the remaining protections provided by Roe v. Wade within months. This is after SCOTUS has let the most extreme abortion ban in the nation go into effect in Texas. We need Congress to act. Congress must immediately pass the Women's Health Protection Act. The Women’s Health Protection Act, which has passed the House and awaits Senate consideration, 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 the Senate to protect an individual’s right to choose—and eliminate the filibuster to allow this popular, bipartisan law to pass.

  227,483 of 300,000 Signatures

  Created by Shaunna Thomas, Ultraviolet
• The US Women's Soccer Team Deserves Equal Pay

  THEY DID IT!!!! The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) just won their FOURTH World Cup title!! These incredible, hardworking, and talented athletes are an incredible force and inspiration to us all. But despite their success, women soccer players are still paid significantly less than men—even though the U.S. men's team has never made the same advances, or had the same success, as the women's team. The U.S. men's team didn't even qualify for the last World Cup tournament. These women are high-performing athletes, and they should be compensated fairly. Sign the petition demanding equal pay for the members of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. "It certainly is not fair." Those five simple words from co-captain Megan Rapinoe sum up the problem, and we know the solution is equal pay for these inspiring athletes. The women's contract says they stand to make a grand total of $200,000 each for winning the World Cup, while men in a similar position would have made over $1 million each. We demand equal pay. In addition to bringing home championships, the U.S. women's team is also bringing in lots of revenue. The U.S. Women's National Team jersey is the best-selling Nike soccer jersey EVER. And the women's team has brought in more revenue than the men's team for the past three years. Women soccer players are suing the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for equal pay, but court battles take a long time and a lot of money. USSF could fix this right now, without the courts, by paying all of the players' salaries and bonuses equally, regardless of gender. That would show little girls everywhere that they deserve the same opportunities boys do. Will you sign this petition telling U.S. Soccer to pay women fairly?

  93,878 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Shaunna Thomas, UltraViolet
• 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?

  131,508 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet
• 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.

  131,557 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Shaunna Thomas, UltraViolet
• 

  These Six Companies Fund Anti-Choice Extremism

  Corporate America is one of the largest supporters of anti-choice, anti-women politicians -- even those who claim they are pro-woman. Some of the worst offenders champion anti-choice candidates at the local, state, and federal level, empowering an extremist agenda that is not only anti-abortion and anti-women but antithetical to equality and justice.  As consumers, we have the power to hold corporations accountable and demand they actually stand for the values they sell in PR statements and advertisements. This is why UltraViolet is collecting the receipts and launching a major campaign calling out six of the biggest companies in America to stop supporting the dangerous anti-women, anti-justice political agenda. But we need your help to show that consumers care about reproductive rights and will not stand for corporations funding extremist politicians like Senator Ted Cruz. Earlier this month, Sen. Cruz attempted to pressure the Food and Drug Administration to continue its restrictions on medication abortion. Cruz stated, “Pregnancy is not a life-threatening illness,” despite the rising maternal mortality rate in the country, especially for women of color.  Can you join our campaign? Here are the receipts: Company giving to anti-choice candidates or their associated PACs/committees AT&T: $1,956,953 Coca-Cola: $1,028,838 Disney: $203,350 Nike: $99,000 Procter & Gamble: $144,000 Uber: $148,000 The total? Over $3.6 million. The actual total and cost for women around the country? Incalculable. The reality of the impact of these political donations goes beyond the raw numbers. Hundreds of bans and restrictions. Several lawsuits. Clinics closed. Lives disrupted. Futures denied. These corporate titans are complicit in the denial of our rights through their political giving and make these extremist views acceptable and even “normal.” But these views are not normal or acceptable. They are at odds with the majority of Americans who support legal abortion, and the millions of people who need accessible reproductive healthcare. Many of these companies have bragged about their social justice cred to consumers in the face of Black Lives Matter and the racial pandemic. But what about the Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, rural, and young people who bear the brunt of the impact of anti-choice policy? Oftentimes, anti-choice views are a sign of a larger framework that is also opposed to racial justice efforts and to science-backed responses to the pandemic. Many of the candidates these contributions support are not just anti-women, they are anti-justice and have harmed our nation’s journey toward progress. Let’s call on these companies and demand they stand by the values they espouse where they can have real impact: their political giving. All of these corporations claim to support women in their workplaces and, sometimes, in their products or where they will do business. But you can’t say you are for women in the workplace or racial justice but stay silent on reproductive rights. Women live intersectional lives and it is time corporations center intersectional policies. As consumers, we have the power to change this narrative. Corporations know that increasingly consumers care about the social impact of corporate power and demand more from corporations than one-time donations or PR statements. Corporations have changed their policies in response to consumer pressure. Just last year, UV members organized to force Netflix to denounce the 6-week abortion ban in Georgia. This year, we made tech platforms change their moderation policies. There is a fierce urgency now. With our rights and lives on the line this election, we need to push on all fronts to ensure reproductive justice now and in the future. Can you join our #ReproReceipts campaign? Sign the petition and tell these companies enough is enough. Stop the anti-choice political giving!

  4,604 of 5,000 Signatures

  Created by SONJA SPOO