Survivor Organizing
Phoenix Survivors Alliance (PSA): PSA is the primary space for survivor organizing on campus. They are a mechanism to hold students and administration accountable, highlight the intersectionality of abolition and gender-based violence, educate to destigmatize misconceptions around sexual violence, and be a safe space for survivors to find community.
PSA’s projects: In 2022, PSA created a physical art installation as a part of the Clothesline Project, where survivors wrote their stories on T-shirts displayed on a clothesline in Hutch Quad.
Between 2021 and 2022, PSA collaborated with UChicago Without Borders (UWB) on the reinstatement of PhD student Zain Jamshaid, who was terminated from his program following a disclosure to Title IX.
Greek Life: Around 20% of undergraduates participate in Greek life on campus, yet UChicago does not recognize fraternities as official student organizations. This is why there is no inter-fraternity oversight body that would allow for the University for discipline and/or accountability. This is a deliberate decision. Fraternities such as Delta Upsilon (now Iron Key), Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji), Sigma Chi, Alpha Delt, and more have all had a proven history of racism in their “recruiting” process, as well as alleged druggings on multiple occasions. PSA maintains that the University must formally recognize fraternities, in order to achieve greater accountability, while not giving them the same privileges as other RSOs given their history. Check out our website to learn about the timeline of racist/sexual assault activities carried out by frats.
Resource guide: PSA put together this resource guide to try and make institutionalized resources, self care and recovery practices, and legal processes more understandable and accessible for survivors. In the guide you will find tips for self-care to address common emotional and psychological responses to sexual violence as well as medical resources, resources for LGBTQIA survivors and survivors of different gender identities, survivors of color, survivors of interpersonal and relationship violence, and survivors who desire to pursue legal action. Also in this guide is an in depth explanation of the Title IX office and what the reporting process entails and requires (note: some of the information regarding navigating Title IX is out of date, for a list of updated resources, check out the section on our website.)
Intersectionality and Transformative Justice: we recognize that survivor liberation is linked to other liberation movements, including that of incarcerated persons — many of whom may face sexual violence in the carceral system, or who are incarcerated due to protecting themselves against their abusers. The populations most likely to be victimized by discriminatory laws and the police — Black and brown people, sex workers, and queer people — are affected by sexual violence at a much higher rate than non-marginalized groups. Additionally, only 3 out of every 10 sexual assaults are reported to police, and only 2.8% of assaults end in a conviction. The politics of PSA support abolition and the liberation of all people; we reject the formal systems that retraumatize us and do nothing for our recovery. In our opinion, true restorative justice must prioritize the needs and desires of the survivor, whatever they may be. A community that puts the safety or rehabilitation of an aggressor over that of a survivor is not a restorative community. We leave you with this: when institutions fail us, we turn to each other for help; justice must be survivor-led, and there are many ways for us to care for one another.
Title IX
What is it: a set of obligations that governs a school’s response to reported harassment. The office on campus offers survivors post-violence options such as housing changes and academic accommodations. investigates assault allegations, and works with the Dean of Students in determining disciplinary consequences. Due to bureaucratic complications and a retraumatizing model that deprioritizes survivor agency, Title IX is often an obstacle to survivors rather than a resource
How does it operate: Even though Betsy DeVos is no longer secretary of education, her Title IX changes are still in effect today, as the Biden administration is not planning to pass their new policies until Oct 2023. Check out our website to learn about Title IX protections and how to navigate the process.
Resources: Chicago rape crisis hotline: 1-888-293-2080; Resilience: (312)-443-9603; Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE): (773)-244-2230
