My rape wasn’t the worst thing that happened to me. It was being betrayed by America’s criminal justice system and finding out that millions of rape kits were being destroyed. That’s why we petitioned, drafted, and – thanks to your signatures – unanimously passed the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights in US Congress.

In the wake of President Obama’s signature, I heard from over a million people around the world including survivors telling me about the work that still has to be done. One of them was Jessica. Jessica, an American, shared with me that she was raped abroad in a foreign country by a man from a third country. Because universal jurisdiction does not exist for rape survivors, when she went to seek help all three countries said there was nothing that could be done. 

Survivors like Jesccia deserve access to justice. Universal jurisdiction already exists for other crimes like torture and crimes against humanity – just not for rape, yet. That’s why Jessica and I teamed up to fight for a worldwide survivors’ resolution. After six years we successfully petitioned world leaders to recognize sexual violence survivors outside of war for the first time in United Nations history. 

But our work is not done. For 1.3 billion survivors around the world to truly be safe, two conditions must be met: (1) countries must have justice systems in place for survivors to seek recourse, and (2) survivors must be able to access those justice systems.

The 2022 United Nations resolution established an international standard for how all nations’ justice systems should treat survivors. Now, those processes must be made accessible to all. 

We call on world leaders to establish universal jurisdiction over sex crimes via a multilateral treaty. Sign this petition to demand access to justice for all survivors, regardless of geography.  

You can read more about the Rise campaign for Universal Jurisdiction here. Go here to learn more about Rise and our global movement for survivors’ rights.