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Inaugural Survivors’ Solidarity March Sparks Nationwide Call for Justice

For Immediate Release: September 26 2026
Contact: media@fwdshift.com

*link for Getty photo selects*

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, in a major display of solidarity and power, survivors of sexual violence and harassment, advocates, organizational leaders, and allies marched together across the country as part of the inaugural Survivors’ Solidarity March. From California to Texas, Colorado to Rhode Island, national and state survivor justice advocates and survivors came together on Saturday, September 26, with one loud message: all survivors deserve safety, support, to be believed, and to be heard.

The march was founded by two survivors, Dana DiFilippo and AnneMarie Hauben, who came together around an idea to create a movement for survivors of sexual violence. The effort quickly grew into a nationwide day of collective action as survivor justice organizations joined together to help organize marches and rallies across the country.

The national coalition includes: Deaf Mental Health Hub, Hire Survivors: Hire Survivors Hollywood and Hire Survivors Broadway, I Have The Right To, Lift Our Voices (LOV), MTMV Community Support Network, National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA), National Women’s Defense League (NWDL), Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA), and UltraViolet Education Fund.

“Today is about the power of survivors. Alone we are drops, but here, every drop counts. Water can carve through stone. And we can carve a path for ourselves,” said Dana DiFilippo, survivor and co-founder of the Survivors Solidarity March, who posted the idea for a survivors’ solidarity movement on social media in March 2026. “We deserve a public day of solidarity and we deserve community support and understanding. This event is built by Survivors, for Survivors. It’s time we stand together.”

“I am a survivor, and three years ago, I spoke up about my abuser, a local politician in Massachusetts. Since then, I have been viciously attacked for sharing my story honestly and in good faith. I don’t want anyone else to endure what I have been subjected to—and continue to experience,” said AnneMarie Hauben, survivor and co-founder of the Survivors Solidarity March. “When Dana’s post came across my Instagram feed, it immediately caught my attention. I commented that I wanted to help her. The Survivors’ Solidarity March was born at that moment. We didn’t want to wait for someone else to make this happen, so we did it ourselves.”

The U.S. faces an epidemic of sexual abuse: It’s estimated that more than 80% of women and 43% of men have experienced sexual assault, unwanted sexual contact, or sexual harassment in their lifetimes. Despite the prevalence of this abuse, survivors are all too often ignored, forced to carry their trauma alone without support or resources.

“If this year has shown us anything, it’s that survivor voices are a force multiplier—when we stand together, we can change the course of unchecked power in this country,” said Sarah Jane Higginbotham, Co-Director at the National Women’s Defense League. “But the burden of speaking truth to power should not be left to survivors alone to carry. It belongs to all of us and today’s national action is just one way we’re building a bigger movement that cannot be silenced.”

Despite light rain, marchers brought energy and enthusiasm to the George Gordon Meade Memorial for the anchor event in Washington, D.C., before moving to the White House and Lafayette Square. ASL interpreters provided interpretation to ensure the program was accessible to Deaf and hard of hearing participants. Stories of joy and solidarity were shared by key speakers:

  • Victoria Burke, Esq., architect of the Speak Your Truth Act
  • Darlene Lekowski, author of Shattering Silence: A Story of Survival, Justice and the Power of Telling the Truth
  • Ashley-Lauren Elrod, survivor turned social impact leader
  • Omny Miranda Martone, founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) and survivor
  • Lauren Weingarten, victim advocate and founder at MTMV Community Support Network
  • Elisa Batista, Campaign Director at UltraViolet and survivor

“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.”

The Survivor Solidarity March and day of action spotlights the bravery of survivors and breaks the isolation that so often follows sexual violence. In addition to the anchor event in D.C., survivors and allies organized satellite events in seven states across the country, including:

Across the country, these coordinated marches and events are intended to send a clear message: No survivor of sexual violence or harassment stands alone. It’s because survivors speak out that abusers and their enablers are finally being held accountable.

National partners involved with the event released the following statements:

Naima Johnson, Founder and CEO at Deaf Mental Health Hub, said “Deaf survivors deserve to be believed, supported and connected to healing resources in their language. We are proud to stand in solidarity and help build a movement where no survivor is left isolated or without access.”

“Survivors exist everywhere and belong everywhere,” said Sarah Ann Masse, Founder and President of Hire Survivors. “Society must give the proper care, attention, and tangible support to individual survivors and the survivor community as a whole to ensure systemic change and individual healing. The Survivors Solidarity March is an important step in survivor visibility and an end to abuse culture and the silencing and erasure of survivors.”

“There is something incredibly powerful about survivors finding one another, standing together, and turning their voices into a ripple of change,” said Susan Prout, Co-founder of I Have The Right To. “That is the community we have always dreamed of building, one that shows survivors they are not alone and reminds all of us that we have the right to stand together and create a future where we can all live and learn free from sexual assault.”

“We stand with every survivor fighting to have their voice heard,” said Gretchen Carlson, Co-Founder of Lift Our Voices. “Harassment and misconduct cannot be accepted in the workplace or anywhere, and lasting change requires all of us standing together to support survivors and demand accountability.”

“Lift Our Voices is proud to stand alongside survivors and advocates fighting for a world where everyone can speak freely about what they have experienced,” said Julie Roginsky, Co-Founder of Lift Our Voices. “We know firsthand how isolating these moments can be and how powerful it is to have a community standing with you.”

Lauren Weingarten, Victim Advocate and Founder at MTMV Community Support Network, said “Survivors are the experts. We are the past, present, and future of Survivor Justice. Abusers and systems of oppression often try to isolate victims from support systems and loved ones because they know how meaningful community is for survivors. That’s why we are all here. We know survivors deserve better and that we are stronger together.”

Shannon Collins, Associate Executive Director at NOVA: National Organization for Victim Advocacy, said “When survivors come together, we build the collective strength that lasting change requires. NOVA is proud to stand for a future where survivor wisdom guides how our communities respond to crime and crisis.”

“Survivors have always been louder together. This march comes at a time when survivors are facing attacks on multiple fronts. Rapists, pedophiles, and abusers have control of our government, our economy, and our media. Their continued power depends on our silence. Today, we are showing resistance! We are not just angry, we are organized!” said Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA). “Today, abusers won’t just hear our voices, they will hear us in unison demanding their removal from power. Demanding a society free from rape culture. Demanding schools free from AI harassment. Demanding an end to ICE raping detained migrants. Demanding an end to survivors being silenced. Demanding an end to rapists controlling our media, our economy, and our government.”

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The Survivor Solidarity March goal is to uplift survivors, strengthen community, and inspire continued action. To learn more and get involved, visit survivorsolidaritymarch.org.

National Sponsors:

Deaf Mental Health Hub is a Deaf-Led resource connector working to close gaps in mental-health and wellness access by centralizing and sharing trusted, culturally responsive resources for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, hard of Hearing and signing communities.

Hire Survivors: Hire Survivors Hollywood and Hire Survivors Broadway, founded by Weinstein Silence Breaker Sarah Ann Masse, is a survivor-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to end career retaliation against survivors of sexual violence while creating safer, more equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplaces across the entertainment industry. Through divisions like Hire Survivors Hollywood® and Hire Survivors Broadway, we help create a world where survivor inclusion goes beyond the entertainment industry, creating a holistic, tangible path towards a more just and inclusive future for everyone.

I Have The Right To is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to creating safe, respectful, and supportive environments for students and survivors of sexual assault through education, student leadership, survivor resources, and community engagement.

Lift Our Voices was launched in December 2019 to create positive, systemic change in American workplaces through the eradication of nondisclosure agreements for toxic work issues and forced arbitration clauses. Created and launched by Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, LOV’s mission is to protect American workers by giving those in toxic work environments the freedom to speak freely about their workplace experiences and free them from the laws and business practices that prevent employees from publicly discussing toxic workplace conditions.

MTMV Community Support Network is one of the first social media-based communities for survivors and their supporters. We offer peer support, groups, workshops, consulting, events, and resources for individuals affected by trauma, abuse, and sexualized violence (and those who support them) across the globe. MTMV also connects individuals with resources aimed at enhancing mental health and overall well-being. In a world that disparages and ostracizes survivors, community is justice.

National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA)’s mission is to champion dignity and compassion for those harmed by crime and crisis by supporting victim advocates, crisis responders, victim-assistance professionals, government and civilian advocacy groups, and allied professionals through training, credentialing, resources, and public-policy advocacy.

National Women’s Defense League (NWDL) is a national, nonpartisan organization dedicated to preventing workplace sexual harassment and protecting survivors through research, advocacy, and survivor support. We are building a movement because speaking truth to power should not be the burden of survivors alone.

Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing sexual violence systemically through advocacy, research, education, policy initiatives, and institutional change.

UltraViolet Education Fund is a women-led gender justice 501(c)(3) organization, with an online community of more than 1 million members nationwide. We combine organizing, technology, creative campaigning, and people power to win real-world changes for women and gender expansive people.

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