June 29, 2015

No Red Tape: Thoughts on the Enough is Enough Bill

On June 17, the New York State assembly passed Enough is Enough, a bill to combat sexual
violence on college campuses. The bill will require schools to implement many exciting new
policies, but it also allocates 4.5 million dollars to state law enforcement. As we have said
before, No Red Tape sees police and the criminal justice system as sources of violence rather
than solutions to it. Recently, we have been thinking a lot about how to organize in ways that
more clearly reflect and support our anti-carceral stance.
Earlier this year, members of No Red Tape were instrumental in reducing the role of law
enforcement on college campuses that was previously mandated by the bill, and later lobbied
for the bill to be passed. While we believe the state can and must do more to help end sexual
violence on college campuses and beyond, we would like to reaffirm that we do not support this
bills strengthening of the criminal justice system, and we do not think that carceral solutions will
make survivors or our communities any safer.
Legislation like Enough is Enough further alienates survivors whose communities
disproportionately experience violence at the hands of the police. Allocating more money to law
enforcement is one of many ways in which survivors of color and queer, trans, and gender nonconforming survivors are routinely marginalized by the mainstream anti-sexual violence
movement. When lawmakers claim to make our campuses safer by strengthening police
involvement, they are ignoring the complex realities of police brutality and criminalization that
are a daily presence in the lives of so many survivors.
The Enough is Enough bill creates a statewide standard of affirmative consent as well as a bill
of rights for survivors of sexual violence. It also requires schools to implement an amnesty
policy so survivors and witnesses who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol can feel
comfortable coming forward. Columbia has refused to institute a policy like this for months.
Although we are glad to see the Governor taking such a strong position, it is unacceptable that
these changes are accompanied by funding for the state police.
As a group, No Red Tape continues to support and advocate for ALL survivors, especially those
whose voices and experiences are often ignored by policymakers. We have decided that
moving forward, we will no longer be involved with legislative work. While policy victories are
important, we would like our approach to remain rooted in a community-based, participatory
model of organizing. We want to continue learning how to better amplify and honor the stories
often deemed unimportant by legislators and the press. And we know that our campuses will not
be safe as long as politicians use our activism and our calls for change to justify the
strengthening of a violent and oppressive criminal justice system.