Dear Members and Allies:
As you know, there is currently a vibrant national discussion regarding rape and what makes it “legitimate”. CALCASA has begun to respond to inquiries regarding our position on these issues and we wanted to provide you with it below:
All rape is legitimate rape and all rape is forcible rape. Our focus should be on increasing access to supportive services for all survivors of rape, not limiting it, in addition to developing programs that emphasize preventing rape from happening in the first place. We’d like the national dialogue regarding rape to focus on investing resources into programs that respond to and prevent sexual violence, not ways of limiting that access.
Based on the national response to this issue, we have heard from every side that the issue of rape is one that is important enough to respond to. We would challenge those in public office to continue to emphasize the importance of addressing the issue of rape, it’s impact on survivors and ways that we can change social norms to create a culture where perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.