To be sure, survivors are not taking for granted the notion that a Democratic Congress would move such measures forward. But they have recognized that they might have some say about that.
“Survivors are powerful,” said Elisa Batista, the campaign director of UltraViolet, a gender equity nonprofit that worked with Giuffre’s brothers to organize a vigil for her. “We have the numbers. Please vote.”
After a campaign from feminist organizations including UltraViolet, Apple implemented new App Store restrictions on “nudify” apps that can generate nonconsensual intimate imagery. Now, Google must do the same on its Play Store.
The protest was organized by UltraViolet, a women’s advocacy group, alongside the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Bookmobile, a truck holding micro-printed copies of the Justice Department’s Epstein files.
“We want Leon Black to be held accountable. And that starts with a prestigious institution like MoMA dropping him,” said Elisa Batista, UltraViolet’s campaign director. “It would be huge for them.”
She said Black’s donations make it harder for the museum to remove him. “We understand that they’ve received tens of millions of dollars in gifts from him,” Batista said. “So it’s hard on them to let him go. But they can and they must."
If leaders of New York’s Museum of Modern Art thought that calls to remove board member Leon Black, an Epstein associate, would eventually die down, a group of two dozen protesters today proved them very much mistaken.
“By serving on MoMA’s board, whether it’s intentional or not, MoMA is helping to sanitize Leon Black’s reputation,” Nicole Regalado, vice president of campaigns at We Are UltraViolet, told Hyperallergic at today’s action.
“Those folks determine what artists we celebrate and whose stories are told when millions of people and children visit MoMA each year,” she added, referring to the influence that comes with being a museum trustee. “And we do not want an accused sexual predator who has been enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s crime ring to have that kind of power over shaping our culture.”
The women’s rights group UltraViolet Action is circulating a petition destined for Hochul and state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) demanding that the gov call lawmakers back into session now to fix the rape law.
“Let us be clear: there is no valid consent when someone is intoxicated,’’ the petition says. "New York state law, as it is today, in essence, lays the blame and shame on survivors and lets perpetrators off the hook, which is completely unacceptable.
“We count on you, Governor Hochul and Speaker Heastie, to correct this injustice and call for an extraordinary session of the New York State Assembly to pass Assembly Bill A101, which would close the voluntary intoxication exclusion and bring Jane Doe closer to the justice she deserves.”
“This day belongs to survivors everywhere,” said Elisa Batista, Campaign Director at UltraViolet and featured speaker at the march. “Every time a survivor speaks out, they make it easier for another survivor to find their voice—and shift the shame and blame where it belongs: onto abusers and those who enable them. To every survivor: We see you, we hear you, we believe you—and we won’t stop fighting for a better future in which survivors are empowered and abusers are held accountable.”
Jenna Sherman, a campaign director at the advocacy group UltraViolet, said, “Opt-out models are not consent.” She argued that warning sounds can be missed in places such as parties, concerts and children’s playrooms, leaving bystanders to monitor devices they don’t own.
“Opt-out models are not consent,” Jenna Sherman, a campaign director for the advocacy group UltraViolet, which focuses on the impacts of consumer tech on gendered and sexual violence, told The Verge. “Being given the option to opt out rather than choosing actively to opt in are very different. One requires a person to be informed and to be enthusiastically and intentionally choosing something, and the other is passive and doesn’t actually place any power into the consumer’s hand. This decision is being made by the companies, and the consumer is being forced to adapt to that decision, and the default model is that you will be subjected to that surveillance.”
Sherman notes that companies are likely well aware of the fact that many people will find it difficult or impossible to truly opt out when always-listening and always-watching devices become ubiquitous. “Not everyone sees the recording light, not everyone hears whatever warning sound is playing on a watch, especially if you’re at a party or a concert, or if you’re a parent at a children’s playroom,” said Sherman.
Elisa Batista, campaign director at the women-led gender justice group UltraViolet, said in a statement that “Harvey Weinstein, like so many powerful abusers, thought the system would enable and protect him forever. That era is over.”
“This victory belongs to courageous survivors like Miriam Haley, Kaja Sokola, and Jessica Mann who came forward at great personal risk to tell their stories, as well as those abused by Weinstein who were unable to,” Batista continued.
“Thankfully, justice was delivered. But our work doesn’t end here,” she stressed. “Across the country, it’s still the case that a majority of survivors of sexual abuse are often not served by our courts,” said Batista. “We will continue to stand with survivors and fight the systems that enable and protect abusers—whether in Hollywood, the workplace, the White House, or anywhere else.”"
We’re launching a nationwide effort to hold the powerful people connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s network of abuse accountable. From rapid-response campaigns to high-visibility public actions, we’re making sure the 1,000+ survivors’ calls for justice are heard — not ignored. Give today to help keep the pressure on.