About 200 demonstrators gathered in Santa Barbara’s De la Guerra Plaza on Thursday to support people who’ve reported sexual assault, as California professor Christine Blasey Ford testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Standing Together to End Sexual Assault, Women’s March Santa Barbara and other area groups organized the “I BELIEVE” solidarity rally in support of Ford as allegations came out against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Dozens of similar protests and rally events were scheduled to take place around the country.
“We are here to support survivors today, but let’s not just support survivors one day,” said Alejandra Melgoza, community organizer for CAUSE. “Let’s support survivors every single day with our actions — that we support them by saying, ‘I believe you.’”
Ford testified about her sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh during a nationally televised Senate hearing on Thursday. She spoke of an alleged attack by Kavanaugh more than 30 years ago, when they were both high school students.
On Thursday afternoon, Kavanaugh also took the stand to testify and take questions amid allegation of sexual assault.
People at the rally in Santa Barbara had written “I BELIEVE” onto their hands, and the majority of those participating wore all black.
At 12:30 p.m., the demonstrators held a moment of silence and used a hands-up gesture. The group broke into an impromptu singing of “We Shall Overcome.”
Standing Together to End Sexual Assault, formally named the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center, had crisis counselors at the plaza.
Those at the gathering empathized with Ford’s testimony and praised her bravery to come forward publicly.
“The cultural norms around sexual assault prevent survivors from receiving the support they need,” said Idalia Gomez, representing Standing Together to End Sexual Assault. “How can we change these norms when survivors are publicly shamed, when they are blamed and their experience is invalidated? “
(Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)
Demonstrators also seek changes in how people who’ve reported rapes are treated in the court system.
“We live in a culture that stigmatizes survivors and excuses the behaviors of perpetrators,” Gomez said. “Sexual assault is a direct result of systematic injustice — how can we create a community free of sexual violence if our judicial system fosters perpetrators to enforce the justice that is supposed to deter that violence?”
Rally organizer Michal Lynch also briefly addressed the crowd.
“One in three women globally will be subjected to sexual violence in their lifetime,” She said. “That’s a lot of people.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
