Monthly Archives: June 2013

Taking a stance against sexual assault

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After an anonymous man spoke out about being drugged and raped, the LGBT community is banding together to create a coalition to change the culture that has allowed the sexual assaults of men and women throughout the LGBT community.

On Thursday June 13, 2013 Caleb Rainey organized a committee on sexual assault and prevention, which gripped the attention of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Fetish Men San Diego, the San Diego Leather community, Men Mentoring Men, and the Empress of the Imperial Court of San Diego.

Sister Farrah Moans emphasized the need to, “Empower the community to speak up and step forward.”

Along with representatives of the Center for Community Solutions a movement has started and is being fueled by a desire to make the LGBT community a safer place to socialize as well as live.

Without minimizing the need to help the victims of sexual assaults, Rainey steered the conversation to prevention.

“We need to be talking about how to keep it [sexual assaults] from happening,” said Rainey.

The group decided on six root causes that have contributed to, if not created, a culture of underlying violence throughout San Diego.  The causes that they feel are essential to change or address through their campaign  are the fear of outing, external and internal homophobia, interrupting cycles of oppression, the culture of demonizing or stigmatizing the body, the stigma of promiscuity, and the feeling of entitlement.

There is no one answer and it will be an uphill battle to change the very mindset of the community. As a group the 20 people who gathered for this meeting are moving forward with a collective effort to gather resources and create change.  Moving from the current victim blaming status quo, to placing the blame where it should actually lay.

“The responsibility for raping is on the rapist,” said Liat Wexler with the Center for Community Solutions.

What’s next? The Committee is going to be calling on leaders from each LGTB affiliated group and organization to create a collaboration of like-minded individuals who will be able to disseminate information and resources throughout the community.

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Saturday, June 15 2013, at 10:00 p.m. the SPI will be leading a walk against sexual assault from Pride Park into Hillcrest to bring awareness to the situation and show the community that they are not alone.