SAFE: ‘We believe her, we support her, and we stand in solidarity with her’

Written by The SAFE Alliance

“No victim of sexual abuse should be forced to live with their abuser,” Bethany Carson, Immigration Policy Researcher and Organizer at Grassroots Leadership, said in a statement. “We are asking Sen. Cornyn in the name of the rule of law to ask that ICE immediately release Laura pending this investigation.”

You can read more here about Laura Monterrosa, the Salvadoran woman whose allegations of repeated sexual assault by a guard at the T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Texas went ignored.

As increased detentions occur under new federal directives, more men, women, and children will have to enter facilities where power differentials are extremely pronounced. SAFE knows that abuse and violence thrive in environments where power differentials are not acknowledged. That abuse is actively lessened through prompt, transparent, trauma-informed processes that are designed to protect people brave enough to speak out.

It is hugely problematic that we cannot ensure the immediate physical safety and well-being of a young woman in the care of a detention facility, and all the more appalling that that she is at higher risk inside those walls.

The facility mentioned in this article is a part of our Central Texas community, and our community has a responsibility to believe sexual assault victims, whether they are detained or live in the free world.

Our hearts are with Laura; we believe her, we support her, and we stand in solidarity with her.