Why Survivor Justice Advocates Warn Against Increased Policing

Following the recent murders of six Asian women in Atlanta by a man who regarded them as a “sexual temptation,” communities have been met with increased policing as a solution to race- and gender-based violence. In Los Angeles, New York, and other cities following the Atlanta shooting, police departments announced they would increase their patrols of Asian American communities. But for women, people of color, LGBTQ and nonbinary folks, people in the sex trade, and young people, who are often more vulnerable to sexual violence, increased policing may only put them at greater risk.

Alarming incidents across the country reflect a trend of police violence and abuse of women. Just last year, the parents of Lauren McCluskey — the Utah woman who was denied a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, who later killed her — filed a lawsuit against police officers for allegedly sharing nude photos of McCluskey. In states including Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Kansas, and others, police officers have been exposed for using their access to databases to stalk local women.

According to one study, at least 40% of police officers are domestic abusers, and sexual violence is the second most common form of police brutality. Sixty percent of prison rapes are committed by prison guards and staff, while an estimated 90% of incarcerated women — who are more likely to be women of color — are survivors of sexual violence. Sexual assault is also among the least reported crimes, with 65% to 85% of sexual assaults not reported to law enforcement. Survivors explicitly cited fear of disbelief and intimidation by police as a factor in why they didn’t report, according to one survey.

And for survivors who do report their assaults, the rigorous nature of the reporting process can often cause retraumatization without serving justice. In the U.S., hundreds of thousands of rape kits have been backlogged, while just five out of 1,000 rapists will ever be imprisoned.

Red Canary Song, a New York City-based, grassroots collective of Asian and migrant people in the sex trade and advocates, responded to the shooting of the Asian massage workers in Atlanta by noting how the victims “were subjected to sexualized violence stemming from the hatred of sex workers,” though there is no evidence suggesting the victims were involved in the sex trade. Red Canary Song also wrote that they “reject the call for increased policing.”

According to Wu, an organizer with Red Canary Song, policing and criminalization don’t keep people in the sex trade, especially those of color, safe from gender-based violence. Instead, to protect and support them, the collective helps them organize; offers legal support, know your rights trainings, and direct financial support; and advocates for decriminalization of the sex trade.

“Race, immigration status, class, status as a sex worker — all of that could make someone more vulnerable to violence and police violence,” Wu said, noting how people of color who are in the sex trade are more likely to be subjected to violence — including by police.

According to research by the Urban Justice Center, a U.S.-based organization that offers legal advocacy to people in the sex trade and survivors of human trafficking, 30% of people in the sex industry interviewed said they had been threatened with violence by police officers, and 27% reported experiencing violence by police, including beatings and rape. When asked about reporting violence to police, they said that police “did not take their complaints seriously and often told them that they should expect violence.”

Emma Levine, an organizer at the student survivor justice group Know Your IX, says ending mandatory reporting policies that require student survivors’ assaults to be reported to police has been an urgent priority of Know Your IX for years. “Those calls [for mandatory reporting] may be well-intentioned, but don’t meet survivors’ needs and disrespect survivors’ desire for confidentiality,” Levine said. It’s estimated one in five female undergraduate students has experienced campus sexual assault, while just 12% of assaults are reported to police.

According to Levine, mandatory reporting policies force student survivors into a “broken and punishing system,” and overall discourage any kind of reporting of campus sexual assaults. This is especially harmful for student survivors, because not reporting an assault denies them access to crucial Title IX accommodations like academic tutoring, counseling, housing support, and more. Research has shown 34% of student survivors are forced to drop out of school as a result of not getting the resources they need for their mental and physical health, and academic well-being.

“When we provide survivors with options for what they feel most comfortable with, reporting increases,” Levine said. “Fighting to eradicate sexual violence means creating a culture that allows survivors to come forward without a fear of facing retaliation and punishment, or further trauma at the hands of our carceral system.”

Recent surges in racist violence targeting Asian women, as well as a rise in white supremacist attacks like the Capitol riot in January, reflect how acts of violence are often rooted in intersecting, identity-based motivations that make women of color more vulnerable. Women of color are also more likely to experience sexual assault, and less likely to be believed when they come forward. Specific to policing, they’re also more likely to be targeted, criminalized, and even killed by law enforcement officers— just one year ago, Louisville police killed Breonna Taylor, a young Black woman, in her own home where she had been sleeping. Throughout 2013 and 2014, Oklahoma officer Daniel Holtzclaw stalked and sexually assaulted more than a dozen Black women before being tried and convicted in 2015. For women of color who face disproportionately high risk of sexual violence, more policing isn’t a viable solution.

There are no simple solutions to an overarching culture of gender-based violence, and systemic state violence targeting women, people of color, and queer and nonbinary folks. But advocates say there are important starting points, including shifting exorbitant funding in policing and prisons toward resources for victims, creating community bystander intervention programs to prevent violence, and investing in community-based resources and solutions to help survivors heal and seek accountability without the state.

At the Every Voice Coalition, an organization of young people organizing against sexual violence, executive directors Lily James and Nora Gallo see prevention of violence as crucial in a society where many victims of violence feel they have nowhere to turn. Every Voice is a leader in writing and introducing legislation to not just support survivors, but prevent violence with “evidence-based prevention programs.”

“This includes, for students and campuses, bystander intervention trainings, and educating students about the full options available to them if they experience violence, and ensuring those who experience violence can get the resources and accommodations they need if they don’t report,” James said, noting alarmingly low sexual assault reporting rates, and the risks associated with working with police or university officials for some students. “They shouldn’t be punished for not coming forward.”

More recently, following the police killing of Daunte Wright in Minnesota on April 11, Emma Levine says it’s “especially important to center the experiences of marginalized, queer, BIPOC survivors in organizing efforts, because their needs are often left unmet when we just focus on the gender or sexual component, as oppose to looking at the broader, intersecting ways in which these violences occur.”

“It’s critical to recognize that policing can endanger people of color, and policies to support survivors of color must reflect this,” Levine said.

As April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we are reminded of why systemic violence against women is often so difficult to address. Police and other law enforcement agencies often neglect or actively harm victims of sexual violence. As a result, advocates across the country — and around the world — are pushing boundaries and organizing beyond state and law enforcement-based solutions for real and life-saving change.