21 Women Who Inspire Us To Make 2017 A Better Year
Thank you @POTUS for saying to survivors that you have our backs, and then thank you for your action. #WeBelieveYou pic.twitter.com/SR3TftkeYO
— Annie E. Clark (@aelizabethclark) April 13, 2016
19. Annie E. Clark
Annie E. Clark is making a profound impact in the fight for women’s rights and specifically, for the right’s of sexual assault survivors. In 2013, she acted as one of the lead complainants of the 2013 Title IX and Clery Act charges against University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These charges claimed that the University didn’t properly handle sexual assault complaints. This case made headlines and other sexual assault survivors quickly sought her out.
Since then, she’s gone on to be the executive director and co-founder of End Rape on Campus, which is an advocacy group for campus sexual assault survivors. This organization provides therapy and attorneys for victims at no cost.
In an age where campus sexual assault is often overlooked, often blamed on the victim, and often ignored by higher authority, we need people like Clark to put their foot down. We need people to believe, not in just the strength of the victim, but in the reality of their story. How are victims supposed to come forward when the punishment of their attackers won’t even come close to matching the pain that the victim lives with now?