**Content Warning: Mentions Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence**

[ [link removed] ]It's National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

[ [link removed] ]And when we say protect Black women, we mean it!

Dear, John:

April 2022 marks the 21st celebration of National Sexual Assault Awareness
Month (SAAM), an annual campaign dedicated to raising awareness about
sexual violence and educating communities on consent.^1 Every year, SAAM
honors the survivors who have been met with doubt, disbelief, or
victim-blaming upon coming forward. And each day, Color Of Change runs
campaigns that shift the narratives around sexual violence and hold
abusers accountable. [ [link removed] ]John, here’s a brief snapshot of our
#ProtectBlackSurvivors initiatives in the past few years: 

* Combatting Rape Culture and Misogynoir in Mainstream Media: We are
holding media publications accountable to crafting narratives around
sexual violence that center the voices and experiences of Black
survivors. This month, we released our #ProtectBlackSurvivors Media
Style Guide, which provides journalists with a list of best practices
for reporting on this issue, like avoiding harmful language, using
trauma-informed interview techniques, and more!

* Building Sisterhood with Black Survivors: We are cultivating intimate
and intentional spaces for Black women and femme survivors of sexual
trauma. In February 2021, we offered 30 fully covered scholarships to
our Empowered Action Series, which focused on moving from healing to
activism through trauma-informed reflection, narrative-building
exercises, and even training to become more involved in our
#ProtectBlackSurvivors work. Tomorrow, we will be releasing our Open
Letter to Misogynistic Media Outlets, featuring quotes from several
attendees about the depiction of Black women’s trauma in mainstream
media. 

* Deplatforming Abusers Within the Entertainment Industry: We are
putting pressure on corporate enablers to deplatform those who have
harmed Black women, femmes, and girls. Back in 2019, we convinced
RCA/Sony to #DropRKelly after the Surviving R. Kelly docuseries
detailed nearly three decades of sexual abuse committed against young
Black women and girls.^2 And in April 2021, we pressured VH1 to
suspend production for T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle, and
Spotify to remove the expediTIously with Tip “T.I.” Harris podcast
from its platform.^3 More than 30 Black women had come forward with
stories of abuse, and all of them faced retaliation by T.I. and Tiny.

[ [link removed] ]John, WILL YOU HELP US TO CONTINUE THIS IMPORTANT WORK?

We do not take this work lightly. Black women remain the least protected
from sexual violence and most vulnerable to the harmful narratives
associated with it. When media outlets trivialize sexual violence and
protect abusers, survivors are more hesitant to come forward and seek
justice. When survivors are isolated from their support systems, abusers
may continue to manipulate and control them. And when corporate enablers
profit from content that glorifies abusers, it sends a message that
gender-based violence is acceptable. It is not, and we both know that. 

John, we are worth protecting. [ [link removed] ]In honor of Sexual Assault
Awareness Month, will you support our efforts to make the world a less
hostile place for Black women, femmes, and girls?  

[ [link removed] ]YES, I WILL POWER THE FIGHT TO PROTECT BLACK WOMEN, FEMMES, AND GIRLS
FROM SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND ABUSERS! #PROTECTBLACKSURVIVORS

Until justice is real,

— Jade Magnus Ogunnaike and the Color Of Change Team

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References:

 1. “Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Building Safe Online Spaces
Together,” National Sexual Violence Resource Center, April 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 2. Nellie Andreeva, “T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle suspends
production amid sexual abuse allegations against stars,” Deadline,
February 5, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 3. “RCA’s move is a victory for R. Kelly’s Survivors and Black women,”
Color Of Change, January 18, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]



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