Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project Space and Sexual Assault Policies

PGRP Convergence Space Policy

To protect this space and those utilizing it, please abide by the following:

• This is a safe and sober space. Drugs, alcohol, and intoxicated individuals are not welcome.
• This is a private space. The use of cameras or recording devices in it is not allowed. Media personnel may only enter if explicitly invited by a member of the Media Working Group, in consultation with the Logistics Working Group and the individuals present at the space.
• No law enforcement personnel are allowed into the space at any time.
• This is not a secure space. Please do not bring any illicit or banned materials—including those covered under recent city ordinances—into it.
• Respect the neighborhood. We are guests here, so be respectful or our neighbors and this working-class community. Please be on good behavior: no graffiti, littering, blocking sidewalks, loitering outside of the space, public alcohol or drug consumption, shoplifting, or other bullshit. When parking bicycles or motor vehicles please be conscientious and do not block doorways or driveways.

The individuals staffing the convergence space are empowered to enforce these rules. They are also empowered to expel anyone being physically or verbally abusive, engaging in racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise oppressive behavior. Anyone experiencing or witnessing such behavior should report it immediately to a staff person who will, if possible, consult with on-site PGRP members, and who is empowered to make the final decision on expulsion.

Bus routes that service the convergence space include:

• From Oakland: 59U (Forbes & Bigelow)
• From Downtown: 56E (4th Ave & PPG)
• From Lawrenceville: 91A (Butler St. & Main) to 53F (Main & 22nd)
• From Bloomfield: 54C to 59U (Murray & Hazelwood)
• From Southside: Walk across Hot Metal Bridge or Birmingham Bridge to catch 56E on 2nd Ave.

PGRP Sexual Assault Policy

Perpetrators of sexual violence/assault/harassment are not welcome in Pittsburgh or at any G-20 organizational spaces. This includes people who have perpetrated in the past*, people currently engaged in or running away from accountability processes, and people who refuse to respect the PGRP consent guidelines. People who violate consent will be directed to leave G-20 organizational spaces and housing arrangements. Given the short time frame, lack of available personnel, and likelihood of state repression we do not have the ability to carry out accountability processes of our own within this artificially constructed and temporary community of protesters.

Perpetrators' presence should not hinder survivors' participation in G-20 mobilizations (though perpetrators are not welcome regardless of survivors' plans). We are resisting the G-20 in large part because it acts WITHOUT accountability to or consent of the people it fucks over. Don't replicate the same paradigm of domination and abuse that you're claiming to want to smash.

*We understand and respect that other communities have engaged in their own processes around these incidents. If you have gone through an accountability process and the survivor, joined by the community, feels that you have sufficiently dealt with your shit, this statement does not include you.

Consent Guidelines for G-20 Resistance Spaces and Housing
(Prepared by the ad-hoc PGRP sexual assault group)

Consistently asking for consent and listening to your sexual partner at every step in every sexual encounter, regardless of length, history, or specific situation, is the only way to prevent sexual assault from happening. Consent includes asking, listening, and respecting; it does not include coercion, expectations, or assumptions.

Consent: Consent is actively and voluntarily expressed agreement. Doing personal work to consistently seek consent and respect the times when it is not given helps to combat rape culture, and informed consent, sexual and otherwise, is necessary in the building of strong, healthy anti-authoritarian communities. The following do not qualify as consent: silence, passivity, and coerced acquiescence. Body movements, non-verbal responses such as moans, or the appearance of physical arousal do not, necessarily, constitute consent. Further, if someone is intoxicated, they may not be in a position to give you consent. Consent is required each and every time there is sexual activity, regardless of the parties' relationship, prior sexual history, or current activity.

Sexual Assault: Sexual assault is any non-consensual sexual interaction. Sexual assault happens, and it happens in activist and radical communities as much as anywhere else. Sexual assault can be perpetrated by a complete stranger, but is often perpetrated by someone known and trusted by the survivor and community. Sexual assault is a tool of domination, of taking power, and can rob someone of their self respect, self worth, and autonomy. Sexual assault is rooted in broader systems of oppression—such as patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, homophobia, and colonialism—and is not separable from them in how and why it is perpetrated, experienced, and dealt with.

Rape Culture: Rape culture is the culture in which sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence are condoned, excused and even encouraged. Rape culture is part of a broader culture of violence, wherein people are socialized to inhabit different positions in hierarchical relationships, to commodify their fellow human beings, and to relate to each other through violence and coercion.

We are survivor centric and survivor oriented. When a decision needs to be made to give "benefit of the doubt" to a perpetrator or support to a survivor, the preference will be to support the survivor. State language (e.g. "allegations") which serves to devalue and cast doubt on survivors' experiences, is completely unacceptable and has zero space in survivor support during the G-20 or elsewhere.

Support Structure for Survivors of Sexualized Violence and Assault

If you experience harassment, abuse, sexual assault, or any other kind of consent violation while resisting the G-20 this September, or if a perpetrator of sexual violence is interfering with your participation in the G-20 resistance movement, or for any other reason you need support to deal with sexualized violence, please come to us. There will be trained and experienced advocates and support people for survivors of sexual assault at the WELLNESS SPACE (located in the clinic). People staffing housing and other spaces, as well as medics and antiauthoritarian-minded legal observers (note: not of the ACLU kind) should also be able to put you in contact with us.

We can offer you:

• Support, caring, and listening
• Advocacy on your behalf, including the removal of perpetrators of violence
• Emergency housing changes to quiet, safer space housing
• Transport to the Pittsburgh rape crisis center
• Medical, herbal, and wellness (massage, acupressure, music therapy) resources
• Resources for further support and/or action
• Support, with the legal team, to document sexual abuse by law enforcement