To Say The Unsaid: A Reflection on My Growth and Understanding of the Anti-Sexual Violence Movement

Second Annual Legislative Launch Speech by Justin, Pennsylvania State Director

Hi Everyone! It is nice to be in this space with you and to see you all popping in for the Every Voice Coalition Launch Event. My name is Justin (they/them), and along with my good friend and Co-State Director Ari, and my wonderful friends on our Steering Committee and that volunteer as our campus leads, I work to enact change in the State of Pennsylvania on the front of sexual violence in the college setting. 

It’s funny because if you told me 5 years ago that I would be helping lead a student-led movement in the state of PA, I wouldn’t have believed you. Growing up in a tiny (2 square miles tiny) conservative town of people who don’t look like you, act like you, or think like you, you learn to assimilate, not spread your wings. But despite that, despite those restraints, here I am, wings spread, able to give a whole dang speech about all the growth I have been able to do, and the new heights I have been able to reach, which are way above 14 year old me’s wildest dreams. Who could’ve known that a chance meeting during a random Police Free Campus meeting at my university almost a year ago now where Ari by chance mentioned the Next Generation Leaders Fellowship, where I joined EVC, would have been able to spark so much change for me. The power of chance is one strong force! 

And a force it was. 

Suddenly, I was in a space with a community that I had been in need of for a long time.  I am still in awe at how smart, creative, speculative, analytical, and kind the people of the EVC community are. The Next Generation Leaders Fellowship was a beautiful space where I could explore what I understood and didn’t understand about organizing, sexual violence, myself, and so so much more. Everyone brought their full selves always, whether it was about astrology, naps, people’s animals, allergies, you name it! And we also brought our full selves when topics became darker – when we talked about survivorship, the struggles of organizing, trauma, and burnout… The work we do isn’t always pretty, but we all brought empathy, patience, personal experience, and so much more to the space which made it restorative and pushed me to be critical and analytical of myself, my experiences, and most importantly, the systems and social structures we move through everyday.

And it was through this reflection that I realized… A lot goes unsaid when we talk about sexual violence. But to be honest with you, calling it “unsaid” is an attempt to make this sound cute, passive, and unintentional. I will tell you that what goes “unsaid” in the anti-sexual violence movement is not just “unsaid” – it is intentionally squashed, repressed, marginalized, and actively silenced in favor of systems that do the same to whole groups of people. Our Racialized folks, our Disabled folks, our Queer folks, our Trans folks, all sidelined in favor of the same White Supremacist, Homophobic, Transphobic, Ableist, Classist, Patriarchial Systems that permeate all other spheres of our lives.

Let me say it again: the issue of Sexual Violence is not foreign to the reach of marginalization and oppression. Within this space, many identity groups face intersections between systemic and institutional oppression and the sexual violence. And it is this silence, what is not being said, that is directly perpetuating it. 

So let me ask you:

How do we protect Undocumented and Black survivors when what is being advocated for is increased police surveillance of this issue? What do we do when entities like Title IX work closely with the police? In a world of ignorance, brutality, and deportation at the hands of law enforcement, how accessible are these services? Are we building support and resources that are accessible to these groups of survivors, or are they being left without someone to turn to? 

Let me ask you:

How do we protect Trans, Non-binary, and Gender Nonconforming survivors when the world is still torn over whether people have or don’t have pronouns? When we advocate for free medical services after an incident of sexual violence for survivors, are we also advocating for medical services that are accessible to people who have transitioned? How are we ensuring that these survivors are not being misgendered, invalidated, or worse in these spaces (medical, legal, counseling, etc.), which only adds to their burden? How are we internalizing and acting considering the most at risk population of sexual violence is Trans Men or Trans Masculine people? 

Let me ask you: 

How do we protect Disabled or Neurodivergent survivors in a world that infantilizes them and reduces their agency? How can we be sure that they are receiving the support and resources they need and, most importantly, want? How do we ensure the people in power are truly listening?

And there’s the answer: listening. It’s listening. It has been, is, and always will be listening. That is the central, most important, most fundamental thing that we can do. Listen. 

I can tell you, right here, and right now, I may be throwing all these hard questions, but I have no idea how to catch all of them, how to answer all of them in a way that will solve all the hurt. I am sure many people in Every Voice can agree with that. But the difference is, we are listening. Listening to the needs of survivors, what they want, what they are screaming for at the top of their lungs. We are also putting them in positions to BE listened to; creating platforms for people to speak, advocate for their needs, and be leaders in the fight for THEIR rights.  Our ears are trained on them, ready to act based on what it is students need to feel safe on their campuses.  

That is why we center survivors in this work. And I mean ALL survivors, not just those who go through the process of reporting through Title IX or the police. This is why we focus on non-carceral and non-punitive approaches to policy to center those who fall through the cracks and provide them with resources non-contingent upon reporting. In order to protect the most vulnerable in this space, we need to listen and advocate for what they SAY they need, not what we think they need.

And listening to the most vulnerable, actively rejecting the violence of the “unsaid”, is not just for us at Every Voice to do; it can be done on an individual level as well. You are basically starting right here, right now…

Because here you are, listening to a Black, Queer, Non-binary person talk about their experience and understanding of the anti-sexual violence movement with their own intersectional lens. I may have said things you have never thought of. I may not have. But you listened to me. You heard me out and took the words I am saying seriously. That is what we need to all be doing in order to protect those who have been “unsaid” out of this movement. Because the moment you close your ears, the moment you narrow your mind, the moment you cast off someone else’s len, that’s the moment you could be missing a cry for help from the most vulnerable. 

So to all of you who are listening, remember. Sexual violence is not a single issue. It is a product of every issue. It is a direct product of power imbalance, of one group feeling they have the ABILITY, the RIGHT, and the POWER to perpetuate sexual violence. Thus, those stripped of their power in this society, the marginalized communities, are most at risk. We need to always be cognizant of this. It is only through listening to these groups, really hearing what they have to say and internalizing it, and fighting and advocating against systematic and institutional oppression that we can construct an anti-Sexual Violence Movement that is truly for ALL survivors. 

Thank you all for taking a moment out of your day to listen to me, and together, let's step into a reality where we no longer allow silence to harm; let’s listen to the deafening shouts that will bring us to a more equitable and safe future for all our students on campus.