About Us
Founded in September 2019, UVA Survivors is a group of survivors and allies that work to promote community and education through the lens of transformative justice. We act as a support system for survivors, further political education in the community, build community with organizations both inside and outside of UVA, and create and participate in trauma healing alternatives. The Me Too Movement was stolen from Tarana Burke and co-opted by wealthy, white, abled, straight women. This has silenced the voices of those who are far more likely to face interpersonal violence. Until ALL survivors can access the support and resources they need, there is work to be done.
Our Working Manifestos:
Manifesto for Political Action:
UVA Survivors is a collective of survivors and allies working to end sexual and interpersonal violence—whether in its most severe or seemingly subtler forms—at the University of Virginia and beyond. We aim to cultivate a life-giving, inclusive space for survivors as we work to build a University where organizations like this no longer need to exist. We operate through the knowledge that oppressive systems, like capitalism and patriarchy, will continue to cause interpersonal violence until they are abolished. We educate ourselves about the many intertwining aspects of interpersonal violence and how they manifest in order to best serve our community.
The University of Virginia neglects—and has neglected since its founding—at least 30% of its student population, both undergraduate and graduate, who have been assaulted during their time studying at this university. The University creates a culture of interpersonal and sexual violence through mediocre consent education, lack of adequate and trauma-informed support resources for survivors, and zero recognition of the disproportionate rate of sexual violence that those of marginalized identities face (i.e. BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and Disabled students). There are no justice systems currently in place that provide sufficient and equitable outcomes for survivors who report their assaults. UVA claims to distinguish itself as a safekeeper of honor and integrity, however the University continues to not leverage its significant sums of funding and power to provide resources for all members of its student body. We believe that the culture of student self-governance is exploitative of the time and energy of students who already face an inequitable and often harmful environment at this University. The University should take the responsibility of its role in creating and perpetuating a culture of violence while also investing resources to prevent all forms of violence and help those who have already faced violence. However, until that time comes, we will continue to provide and fight for our most basic resources.
Manifesto for Self Preservation:
We strive to create a community of survivors and allies that is a safe space for survivors of all identities and backgrounds, including those who were survivors of sexual assault and abuse before starting their college careers. We have an open door policy because we believe that every student and community member deserves access to a space for healing. However, it should be noted that this group is not therapy but rather a space for survivors to connect with others and regain their power by participating in justice reform, organizing, and community. We all have varying levels of trauma and thus need different levels of healing that we will respect.
We are committed to the principles of restorative justice, which in its practice acknowledges that those who do wrong need healing as well, as trauma is often passed down and spread in relationships and communities. This does not mean that there should be forgiveness of acts of violence, but healing for and changing of mindsets stuck in a patriarchal society that mobilizes sexual and interpersonal violence as power.
We hold self-preservation to be one of our principle core values, to ensure our longevity while obtaining our mission to create a space for all survivors.
Defining self-preservation:
In order to protect ourselves
To not accidentally and ironically use coercion as a means of completing tasks, but building a sense of responsibility and duty to this community while keeping our personal limits in mind.
Keeping in mind that we all have varying levels of trauma with various levels of healing and that we must respect the paths each of us is on. We must value the many ways in which we heal without continuing the spread of trauma in our own community.
Owning up to mistakes and acting not as gatekeepers but as a community of radical learning, understanding and acceptance. No one person or story is the perfect narrative to define what we have gone through.
Websites we have drawn a lot of inspiration and learning from: http://aorta.coop/ & https://transformharm.org/