UltraViolet Action

Campaigns

• 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.

  129,915 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Shaunna Thomas, UltraViolet
• 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.

  95,096 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.

  217,482 of 300,000 Signatures

  Created by Emily Figdor
• Fire Noah Oppenheim & Phil Griffin at NBC for covering up sexual assault charges

  The executives at NBC News and Comcast have been covering up rape.

  10,241 of 15,000 Signatures

  Created by Shaunna Thomas
• 

  Tell Reddit: Ban Racism and Hate Speech

  Reddit has been called the home to "the most violently racist" content on the internet by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The popular social network has long been a haven for sexist, racist, homophobic, and transphobic content--and the company has done little to address it. In fact, Reddit's former CEO recently called out the company saying it "nurtures and monetizes white supremacy" and hate. Reddit has been linked to the alt-right, the manosphere, white nationalists, and other hate groups that promote violence and harass other users, particularly women, people of color and LGBTQ people. Reddit is home to appallingly racist forums dedicated to promoting violence and unspeakable slurs against Black people. Meanwhile, forums created as safe spaces for Black women and LGBTQ people have called on Reddit to protect them from being inundated with harassment and attacks, and the company hasn't done much to help. Reddit forums have also served as an organizing platform for extreme men's rights groups that promote violence against women, including the belief that women want to be raped. The reputations of U.S. Reddit users are so bad that Reddit Ireland resorted to shutting down its site entirely every night to stop racist posts coming from the U.S. Reddit has also been linked to deadly shootings and attacks. Reddit was used to organize the Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va that killed activist Heather Heyer, and at least three recent mass killers in North America were inspired by Reddit chatrooms fostering misogyny and racism. In 2015, Reddit refused to ban "open racism and slurs," claiming it needed to allow people with so-called "different beliefs" to express themselves. But Reddit can't hide from this moment of national reckoning on systemic racism. Sign the petition supporting the demands made by more than 800 Reddit moderators representing Black, feminist, and LGBTQ Reddit forums and millions of Reddit users.

  79 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Maria Tchijov
• No more rape apologists--Denounce Richard Black!

  Richard Black, a candidate for Congress in Virginia, thinks that spousal rape should not be a crime. When Virginia voted to allow spouses to be prosecuted for rape, Black opposed it as a state senator and questioned whether marital rape is even possible, saying "when they're living together, sleeping in the same bed, she's in a nightie, and so forth." This is outrageous and unacceptable. Marital rape is a crime and a very serious instance of domestic violence. And it's not the first time Black dismisses rape with his comments. He once told a newspaper that military rape is "as predictable as human nature... Think of yourself at 25,... Wouldn't you love to have a group of 19-year-old girls under your control, day in, day out?" When candidates for public office aren't met with the outrage they deserve for their offensive and incredibly dangerous comments, it only emboldens them to push radical anti-woman policies once they are in office. Black's views on rape are downright dangerous and inhumane, and we have to speak out. The National Republican Campaign Committee knows that women voters are critical to success. They have to hear that this is the wrong way to attract them.

  170 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna, 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?

  131,509 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet
• Tell Congress: Pass the Violence Against Women Act now

  Well, finally. You probably heard that the last Congress was one of the least productive in history. Even worse than that, they're the first Congress to fail to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). So it's good news that leaders in the new Congress, in both the House and Senate, just introduced VAWA again. Even better, the versions that have been introduced expand protections to communities who are especially vulnerable to sexual and domestic violence--Native American women, immigrant women, and members of the LGBT community. But those expanded protections are the very reason House conservatives shamefully refused to act on VAWA last year--leaving millions of women without crucial protections. So if we don't push Congress, hard, it might not even come up for a vote this year. Reporters are already covering the new VAWA bills, and conservatives didn't face nearly enough pressure when they failed to act last year, so now is the time to speak up. New members of Congress are particularly sensitive to news coverage early in their terms, and want to avoid bad press at all costs. So we need to put pressure on them right away. Can you sign this petition telling Congress to expand and reauthorize VAWA?

  3,620 of 4,000 Signatures

  Created by Kat Barr, 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.

  162,775 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Kat Barr, UltraViolet
• Stop the Maryville Coverup

  Nearly 2 years ago, 14-year-old Daisy Coleman was raped at a party by a high school football star and grandson of a powerful local politician in Maryville, Missouri. But now, he’s walking free while Daisy and her family struggle to survive with what happened to her. Immediately after the rape, Daisy and her mother went to the hospital and reported the rape to police. Matthew Barnett was charged, and he confessed on tape. But months after the rape, county prosecutor Robert Rice--who has close ties to the alleged rapist's influential grandfather--dropped the charges. Worse, the town and high school ganged up not on the rapist, but on Daisy and her family. This is Steubenville all over again. And just like the Steubenville case, if thousands of us speak out and shine a national spotlight on Maryville, we can get justice for Daisy and her family. Will you sign our petition to demand justice for Daisy?

  3,700 of 4,000 Signatures

  Created by Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet