Several women have bravely come forward to share their experiences of sexual abuse and assault at the hands of Cesar Chavez, including when one of the women was 12 years old. Their stories have been detailed by The New York Times, and they are painful and heartbreaking.
The Latino Policy Forum unequivocally stands with survivors of sexual violence. For too many girls and women, sexual violence, and the silence and shame that often follows, is a familiar experience. The three women who came forward deserve justice. It is tragic to learn that some individuals, who knew about the allegations of violence failed to hold him accountable before he died.
As a community and as a society, we must dismantle behaviors and call out actions that normalize and perpetuate sexual violence, excuse those who have caused harm, and prioritize protecting appearances over truth.
The legacy of the farmworker’s movement does not belong to any single person. The movement has persisted without Chavez and will live on through the people that have fought in the past and those that advocate today, including the women that came forward.
And as Dolores Huerta, a steadfast champion of the farmworker’s movement and one of the courageous survivors who shared her experiences of sexual abuse and assault by Chavez, stated yesterday:
We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.
I will continue my commitments to workers, as well as my commitment to women’s rights, to make sure we have a voice and that our communities are treated with dignity and given the equity that they have so long been denied.
Follow organizations like Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Justice for Migrant Women or Esperanza United to learn how you can get involved in breaking the cycle of gender-based violence. If you or someone you know needs support, confidential help is available through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at (800) 656-HOPE, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233.