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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Jess Davidson, jdavidson@endrapeoncampus.org, 970-631-6829

More than 650 Students And Sexual Assault Survivors Protest Devos' Rollback Of Title IX Enforcement At National Vigil And Day Of Action For Survivors Of Campus Sexual Assault

This Thursday, October 19, survivors, parents, students, and allies will gather outside the Department of Education for the The National Vigil for Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault to oppose Secretary DeVos' rollback on civil rights enforcement. The National Vigil for Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault is organized by End Rape on Campus, Women's March, It's On Us, Feminist Majority Foundation, PAVE and SurvJustice. More than 650 people are expected to attend. There will also be more than 15 sister vigils on college campuses across the country.

WASHINGTON

This Thursday, October 19, survivors, parents, students, and allies will gather outside the Department of Education for the The National Vigil for Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault to oppose Secretary DeVos' rollback on civil rights enforcement. The National Vigil for Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault is organized by End Rape on Campus, Women's March, It's On Us, Feminist Majority Foundation, PAVE and SurvJustice. More than 650 people are expected to attend. There will also be more than 15 sister vigils on college campuses across the country. Final confirmations about sister vigils will come in a Thursday press release.

For months, students across the country have been writing open letters, posting online, and holding demonstrations to #StopBetsy and calling on DeVos to protect survivors of sexual violence. Over the last week, thousands of survivors spoke out online and in the media against sexual violence and harassment. Yet, at a time when we should be doubling down against campus sexual assault, Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education have tipped the scales in favor of rapists and perpetrators. In the face of this betrayal, survivors of sexual violence, their families, and allies will join together in solidarity to honor the tragedy of the campus sexual assault epidemic, and to gather strength as we prepare fight back. At the same time, students will gather at sister vigils across the country to call on universities and colleges to uphold previously issued best practices and protect survivors on campus.

Survivor stories will be shared, as well as the stories of survivors' parents, who, like survivor advocacy groups, have consistently been unable to get into DeVos' invite-only speeches and closed door meetings to hear about the policy changes that will most affect them and their children.

Please inquire if you'd like to be connected with survivors and parents of survivors who'd like to tell their stories.

WHO: More than 650 survivors, parents, students, and allies joining a National Vigil and Day of Action to Support Sexual Assault Survivors with End Rape on Campus, Women's March, It's On Us, Feminist Majority Foundation, PAVE and SurvJustice, along with an expected 15+ sister vigils on college campuses across the country

WHEN: 7:00PM-8:30PM

WHERE: U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Hashtags: #StopBetsy #SupportSurvivors

Twitter: @endrapeoncampus, @womensmarch, @itsonus, @feministcampus, @PAVEinfo, @Survjustice

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/203527496854115/

Livestream: https://www.facebook.com/endrapeoncampus/

MEDIA REQUESTS:

Jess Davidson, Managing Director

Email: jdavidson@endrapeoncampus.org

Phone: 970-631-6829

End Rape On Campus (EROC) provides confidential services. This message is intended only for the named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. This email and all other communication from EROC employees are not substitutes for legal or mental health advice, as EROC employees are not lawyers or mental health professionals.