The following alert is being distributed
by the Grassroots Animal Rights Conference:
With this posting we seek to provide a way to protect women in the animal advocacy
community and show sexual assaulters that they will not find a safe haven in
this movement.
A criminal complaint charging sexual abuse has been
filed against Christian Vegetarian Association founder
and former International Director Nathan Braun.
Nathan's picture is posted at http://www.SexualAssaultWatch.org/NathanBraun
At the Grassroots Animal Rights Conference in New
York City last month, in the church where many of
the activists were staying, a young woman describes "In
the middle of the night, I woke up to him [Nathan
Braun] rubbing my vagina, trying to finger me, groping
my body..."
In our subsequent investigation, at least three
other women that he met at animal rights conferences
have come forward and reported unwanted aggressive
physical advances by Nathan Braun.
In response to the charges last month, Nathan, a
self-described "polygamist," said that
he "would not be surprised at all" if he
had indeed done what she described, but chalked it
up to "sexsomnia." If he did do it, he
claimed, he did it while he was asleep. Within days,
though, he dropped the sexsomnia defense entirely
and now evidently denies the assault completely.
Nathan now feels he has become an object of prejudice
for being, in his words, "one of the very few
young 'handsome'-ish, xian [Christian] alpha males
in attendance."
We believe that sexual assaulters should be held
accountable for their actions within the movement.
The predictable response when someone is held accountable
is for that person who is accused of sexual assault
to deny the act, to minimize the act, to blame the
victim, and to threaten those who hold him accountable.
We urge Nathan and any one else in the movement who
may have sexually victimized others, to chose a more
just response: First, to stop sexually harassing
and sexually assaulting women, second, acknowledge
what they have done, and third, provide restitution
to the assault survivor(s) and meet their demands
and that of the community. We say to him and anyone
else who acts in ways that violates women's boundaries: "You
are responsible for your behavior and we hold you
accountable for that behavior." We recommend
that anyone with sexual assault complaints against
them not be allowed to attend, speak, or table at
an animal rights venue until he satisfactorily answers
to the accusations.
The Christian Vegetarian Association should be commended
for doing the right thing and swiftly disassociating
themselves from Nathan once they were informed of
the situation.
The Grassroots Animal Rights Conference was proactive
in setting forth an explicit zero tolerance policy
against sexual harrassment and assault. Sexual assault
in the animal advocacy community affects us all.
It destroys trust, exploits vulnerable individuals,
and bankrupts the claims of a movement that speaks
about equality and challenges oppressions. This is
harmful to the individual women for whom sexual assault
can cause physical, psychological, and spiritual
damage, but it is also harmful to the movement. It
creates a climate in which some of us cannot feel
safe in our activism. Sexual assault should not be
the cost of being a woman animal activist.
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