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    Confronting Sexual Violence with Militant Optimism

    "We should be guided by a militant optimism, taking as our goal a complete end to sexual violence rather than a modest reduction or improved response after the fact."
     
     
    They write, "Optimism means an insistence that eradicating sexual violence is possible. Anybody involved in the fight against sexual violence — including Harvard’s administrators, employees of the University’s Office of Gender Equity, and student activists — will recognize the feeling that ending sexual violence is an insurmountable task and struggle with a sense of hopelessness.

     

    "But we contend that we must work towards a world where the number of sexual assaults is zero. We should be guided by a militant optimism, taking as our goal a complete end to sexual violence rather than a modest reduction or improved response after the fact....

    "Abolitionist feminist Mariame Kaba has a saying: “Hope is a discipline.” Hope is not a passive feeling but an activating conviction, one we must carefully foster by taking active steps to create the world where it can be realized. Our optimism must be accompanied by urgent action.

    They conclude, "The richest school in the world has an obligation to devote its significant resources towards leading the charge to end sexual violence on college campuses. The Harvard community, and especially Harvard’s leadership, must move with both optimism and urgency."

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