César Chávez sexual abuse allegations: We must always listen to survivors | Opinion
The Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence is outraged by the lack of outrage, as the same story repeats itself again. From the lack of action on the abuses perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein and the power brokers who joined him in rape and human trafficking, to the recent disclosures about sexual violence allegedly perpetrated by famed labor organizer César Chávez, we are once again confronted with systems and a society where people with power cause egregious harm. They rely on the cloak of influence, institutionalized protections and your silence to avoid accountability.
Survivors see this pattern clearly, and they bear the weight of the consequences.
When systems and people fail to demand and create accountability, survivors do not just lose faith — they lose safety. We all do. Survivors weigh the risks of coming forward and too often determine that the costs are too high. When institutions cannot be trusted, survivors are pushed further into isolation, are less likely to report and less likely to seek help. So, when a survivor such as Dolores Huerta and others do speak, we must believe and support them.
At this same time, harmful and false narratives about transgender people, which masquerade as protection against a threat to the safety of women and children, both ignore real threats to women and children and increase the risks of violence against trans folks. This politicized wedge issue is only pretending that women and children will be protected by bathroom bounty policies and the like. There is zero evidence that transgender individuals are more likely to engage in violence, but significant evidence that they are at high risk of being victims of sexual violence. In policy after policy, through the actions of our state, trans people have been subjected to invasive scrutiny of their bodies and have had their personhood reduced to their genitalia. This objectification, too, is sexual violence.
This is not what safety looks like. Policies that normalize monitoring, objectifying or inspecting people’s bodies mirror the very dynamics of control and the violations that are at the root of sexual violence. These policies do not and will not protect you. They reinforce the culture and systems that enable perpetration to thrive without accountability.
Listen to survivors. They understand what real safety requires. It requires systems that respond when harm occurs. It requires accountability that is not influenced by power, politics, or access to influence. And it requires good people to be outraged enough to demand better of our communities, our government and our world.
Sexual and domestic violence persist at unacceptable levels. We must reject abusive behaviors and cultural norms that protect perpetrators and silence or blame victims.
Survivors who come forward should be met with support, dignity and real actions of justice. They lead the way as they continue to speak out, demand accountability and push for change. Our responsibility is to meet them there, not with silence or deflection, but with action. Kansans deserve systems that protect people, not power.
We join our colleagues at Valor, Esperanza United, and many others across the country to demand that survivors be believed, that harm be addressed transparently and that resources be devoted to both the care and support for survivors, as well as for the prevention of sexual and domestic violence.
As Dolores Huerta reminds us in her courageous disclosure, “I have encouraged people to always use their voice. … I can no longer stay silent.”
Our responsibility is to meet her here.
Michelle McCormick is executive director of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 1:03 PM.