MONDAY 11AM: Sexual Assault Survivors Confront Senator Jeff Sessions, Deliver Giant Poster With the Definition of Sexual Assault to His Senate Office
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Monday, January 9, 2016
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro| 914-523-9145 | anna@unbendablemedia.com
MONDAY 11AM: Sexual Assault Survivors Confront Senator Jeff Sessions, Deliver Giant Poster With the Definition of Sexual Assault to His Senate Office
100,000 Join Women’s Group in Petitioning the Senate Judiciary Committee to Reject Sessions for Attorney General
Senator Sessions Has Long Record of Opposing Legislation to Support Sexual Assault Survivors, Said President-Elect Trump’s Access Hollywood Comments Do Not Constitute Sexual Assault
WASHINGTON, DC — On Monday, January 9th, sexual assault survivors, supporters and members of UltraViolet, a national women’s advocacy organization, will confront Senator Jeff Sessions’ outside his Capitol Hill Senate Office demanding that he take violence against women seriously and commit to protecting women as Attorney General, or withdraw his name from consideration.
At the action, the survivors of sexual assault joined by their supporters will deliver a giant poster with the Department of Justice’s existing definition of sexual assault to Senator Sessions. The Justice Department defines sexual assault as: “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.”
WHEN: Monday, January 9th. 11:00AM ET
WHERE: Senator Jeff Sessions’ Capitol Hill Office. Russell Senate Building Room 326. Washington DC.
VIEW THE POSTER HERE: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.we
Senator Jeff Sessions has a long record of opposing legislation that would protect and support sexual assault survivors – voting against both the Violence Against Women Act and Military Justice Improvement Act as Senator. During the 2016 election campaign, Senator Sessions, a top Trump surrogate, refused to acknowledge that President-Elect Trump’s comments in the 2005 hot mic video where he described forcibly kissing women and grabbing them by their genitals – constituted sexual assault, telling The Weekly Standard shortly after the news broke that “I don’t characterize that as sexual assault. I think that’s a stretch.”
More than 100,000 people have already signed onto a petition from UltraViolet calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Senator Jeff Sessions appointment, arguing that the nation’s chief law enforcement officer must be protect women and prosecute crimes when women’s rights are violated.
VIEW THE PETITION HERE: https://act.weareultraviolet.o
“Grabbing women’s genitals without their consent is the very definition of sexual assault, and it is a crime — full stop,” explained Shaunna Thomas, co-Founder of UltraViolet. “It is deeply disturbing, but not particularly surprising, that President-Elect Trump would appoint a man with such an abysmal record on protecting women – from voting against cracking down on military sexual assault, to opposing the Violence Against Women Act – to serve as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Thirty years ago, the Senate said Senator Jeff Sessions was unfit to be a federal judge – it is now up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to ensure that our nation’s standards aren’t lower today than they were 30 years ago. With an ongoing epidemic of sexual assault and violence towards women – our nation deserves better from its Attorney General.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to begin confirmation hearings on Senator Session’s appointment on January 10th. Coinciding with the hearings, UltraViolet has commissioned a mobile billboard to circle Capitol Hill urging the Senate to stop Sessions’ appointment saying “survivors of sexual assault can’t trust Jeff Sessions.”
VIEW THE BILLBOARD HERE: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.we
For more information, or to RSVP to Monday’s press conference, please contact Anna Zuccaro at 914-523-9145 or by email at anna@unbendablemedia.com.
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UltraViolet is an online community of over 1,000,000 women and men who want to take collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media. Find out more at WeAreUltraViolet.org.