{"id":101323,"date":"2018-02-17T23:51:27","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T06:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hundreds-gather-for-metoo-rally-against-sexual-violence\/"},"modified":"2018-02-17T23:51:27","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T06:51:27","slug":"hundreds-gather-for-metoo-rally-against-sexual-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hundreds-gather-for-metoo-rally-against-sexual-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds gather for #MeToo rally against sexual violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=91c25fce-6adb-4ba8-99d0-df9023e6dbdb&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=91c25fce-6adb-4ba8-99d0-df9023e6dbdb&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=800 800w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=91c25fce-6adb-4ba8-99d0-df9023e6dbdb&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=91c25fce-6adb-4ba8-99d0-df9023e6dbdb&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1800 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 2000px\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1008\" alt=\"Merkin Karr fires up the crowd as she speaks during the #MeToo March and Rally on Saturday morning at Buckley Park.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Merkin Karr fires up the crowd as she speaks during the #MeToo March and Rally on Saturday morning at Buckley Park.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>          <!-- gallery:c2e0acfc-5c60-4ac0-be19-de0c68cb5fd1 --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NmUt68FLjCk\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><hardreturn>Merkin Karr was 19 years old when she found herself in an abusive relationship, but for many years she refused to believe she was a victim.<\/hardreturn><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought that smart, strong women like me don\u2019t have things like this happen to them,\u201d Karr said as she stood on a stage Saturday during the Durango #MeToo March and Rally. \u201cToo long society has tried to dictate what it means to be a victim. We have been victim-blamed and told we are falsely accusing \u2026 and yet we persist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 300 Durangoans on Saturday stood alongside those who have been sexually assaulted, harassed and victimized to say #MeToo and to speak out against such behavior.<\/p>\n<p>The march was sponsored by the Women\u2019s Rights Committee of Indivisible Durango and co-sponsored by Durango Sexual Assault Services Organization and the Women\u2019s Resource Center.<\/p>\n<p>The crowd assembled outside the Durango &amp; Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot, and as they marched along Main Avenue, chanted phrases like \u201cWhen we say no, we mean no.\u201d After stopping at Buckley Park, they listened to speeches by Dr. Jude Harrison and Fort Lewis College students Karr and Natalia Sells.<\/p>\n<p>Retired Navy Capt. Gail Harris gave opening and closing remarks at the rally. In 1973, Harris became the first woman to serve as an intelligence officer in a Navy combat job. She was also the highest-ranking female African American in the U.S. Navy when she retired in December 2001.<\/p>\n<p>Harris spoke publicly for the first time about being sexually assaulted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a rape survivor,\u201d she told the crowd. \u201cYou can experience it and come out on top. We come in peace, but we mean business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The crowd, a mix of genders, sexual orientations and races, carried signs with such statements as, \u201cAnd we still aren\u2019t getting equal pay. Why?\u201d and \u201cNobody asks what my rapist was wearing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rally participant Joanna Atencio said she was stunned and angry after being harassed at her workplace. She believed she was alone in her experience until she reached out to her co-workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople were losing their jobs and being intimidated and bullied,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen it happened to me, it was so aggressive, I thought, \u2018Wow, how could this happen?\u2019 These women are being belittled and intimidated by the power and it\u2019s not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Social activist Tarana Burke created the \u201cme too\u201d phrase in 2006 as part of a campaign to empower women of color and publicize the pervasiveness of sexual assault and harassment. Then, the #MeToo hashtag gained traction on social media in October after more than a dozen women accused Hollywood media mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse, providing a platform for hundreds of thousands of people to share their experiences of sexual harassment and assault.<\/p>\n<p>The #MeToo movement is inclusive.<\/p>\n<p>Ryan Garcia, representing Planned Parenthood at the rally, said there is a misconception that the movement is exclusive to women.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think anyone and everyone can be affected by sexual violence,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is amazing to see the amount of people who turned out for this. It is amazing to see solidarity across Durango.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marchers said they want to empower change in society without resorting to violence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to be a part of this peaceful dialogue,\u201d said participant Brenda Marshall. \u201cI feel that women are coming with peace and love, and that\u2019s the solution I want us to seek. I want our men and boys to feel respected, and have that in return.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some cried during rally speeches, but there was also joy as the crowd danced together in Buckley Park as Christina Aguilera\u2019s song \u201cFighter\u201d played loudly.<\/p>\n<p>Sells, FLC\u2019s reigning Miss Hozhoni, was a voice for Native American women.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI interviewed very strong and brave Native students at Fort Lewis, and hearing them share their stories about sexual violence committed against our tribal members opened my eyes,\u201d Sells said. \u201cWe are taught what to do when we are raped, not if it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sells shared statistics from the National Congress of American Indians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerican Indians and Alaskan Natives are at least two times more likely compared with all other races to experience rape or sexual assault,\u201d she said. \u201cOne in three Native American women have reported being raped in their lifetimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said #MeToo has changed lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe movement has given a voice to women \u2026 who have been silent for far too long, and given a voice to Native and indigenous women,\u201d Sells said. \u201cI hope that through this movement and future movements that one day my siblings and grandchildren will not have to post #MeToo on their social media.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harrison, a longtime doctor in Durango and a transgender man, was a voice for the LGBTQ community at the rally. On the prevalence of sexual violence in society, he said, \u201cAs I expanded what sexual harassment and assault means, I realize that I stopped counting at 15 when I was between the ages of 12 and 22.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to a 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, 47 percent of transgender people are sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany transgender people are sexually assaulted as children,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we are a sex-positive culture and a female-positive culture, and recognize gender identity and respect that \u2026 we will form bridges and get through this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris punctuated the rally by leading marchers in singing \u201cWe Shall Overcome.\u201d But she added a sense of urgency to the message of the Civil Rights-era song and urged the crowd to sing \u201cwe shall overcome today\u201d instead of \u201cwe shall overcome someday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"mwc_shirttail\"><a href=\"mailto:mrupani@durangoherald.com\">mrupani@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018We come in peace, but we mean business,\u2019 ralliers say<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":101324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[13,524,6346],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-101323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-sexual-assault","tag-sexual-assault-series"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101323"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=101323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}