I have been to the Occupy site many times throughout the past two weeks and have found that the supportive nature of the community does not, as you suggest in this misleading blog, replace their support of reporting abuse to law enforcement. I think it is commendable that Occupy Baltimore has addressed this concern in a supportive way in a pamphlet addressing everyone visiting or living on site as to the behavior expected. Do you live in a community that speaks up about violence against women publically? I see this as a piece of writing that validates women's experience in society, and that is something greatly needed.

Breitbart is your source? Did you actually do any investigative journalism, or did you rely on his sleaze and lies? Shame on you.

Just call The Police. If you are sexually physically or mentally abused. Laws still apply to every person in the U.S. Just Because Your protesting Doesn't mean laws don't apply to you. Call the Police. They are sworn in to protect the people. Not protect the people unless there are protesting. lol.

Mea, please read the blog and the story that ran in today's paper. Breitbart is not the source; the site gets credit for being the first to post the memo for a wider audience. As you can see in the stories, we verified the memo is real through a movement spokeswoman and talked with the author.

Last week there were 80 4th and 5th graders from Southwest Baltimore Charter School at Occupy Baltimore practicing direct democracy. It's too bad the Sun didn't send a reporter down to cover that amazing morning (which they got a press release about), but instead would rather misconstrue certain fractions of the drafted Occupy Baltimore sexual harassment document, while citing a blogger as the be critic yet. First of all, read the whole document and you'll get a very different take, namely that Occupy Baltimore in no way dissuades individuals from contacting the police in the instance of sexual harassment, and that Occupy Baltimore additionally encourages individuals to autonomously work out issues amongst the Occupying population that participates in nightly General Assemblies in which issues of concern can be brought up and decisions can be made to address such concerns. That's VERY different than saying "Occupy Baltimore says don't call the cops if you get raped."

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We provided the document in full to women's advocates to get their thoughts. Then, we printed those responses. The Sun has also sent various reporters to Occupy Baltimore for various stories, including a front page piece in Wednesday's paper.

One question to consider is whether or not the women's advocates that you contacted are familiar with the particularly radical perspective that the document's authors were writing from. I think we can all agree that diverse groups often have a diverse array of tactics for dealing with similar issues. Simply because one refers to oneself and is recognized as a "women's advocate" does not mean that advocacy starts and stops with their approach.

And to the point of the Sun's relationship to Occupy Baltimore and the nature of its coverage, it should also be noted that the member of the security committee interviewed for the article specifically asked not to be identified by their full legal name. Though the Sun's editors intended to ignore that request, they inadvertently honored it by printing an incorrect first name.

As a female Baltimorean and a person who supports the general Occupy cause, I have to say that this memo makes me deeply ashamed of both my city and the organizers of this particular occupation. I have spent a little time at the demonstration site, but like some others, have been disappointed by certain elements of threats of violence or hostility towards police that are totally unnecessary. Unlike in other cities, the police in Baltimore have done little to nothing to disturb the Occupation. Indeed, while this area (or any area of downtown Baltimore) is not particularly a safe place to dwell overnight, police have made some efforts to look out for the occupants and keep an eye out for their safety.

This is not Melbourne -- nobody is getting their heads busted. So why this unnecessary, pre-emptive judgment of the police?

Now, I will also say that the BPD does not have the greatest history of integrity and ethics when it comes to processing rape cases. That having been said, this memo appears to acknowledge that sexual assault has already been a problem at the site. This is NOT something that Occupy organizers should be attempting to cover up. If the community is harboring and protecting sexual assaulters or rapists, they need to be responsible for working with the appropriate authorities to remove these people from the premises.

Do the individuals that circulated this memo have a full-time, certified counselor specializing in sexual assault cases on call at all hours? Have they identified a hospital that will accept community victims for rape kit testing? Do they have the financial and physical ability to transport victims to that hospital and pay for any costs incurred? Do they have a security force in place with the ability to remove rapists and/or assaulters without police assistance? If not, then they have no business telling any woman to turn to them as the authority, before any other entity. And to the best of my knowledge, for all that OccupyBaltimore has accomplished, they do not have any of these safeguards in place.

Any cause that attempts to silence victims of sexual violence in any way has ceded its legitimacy. As a feminist and a survivor, I can no longer support Occupy Baltimore until this memo is recanted by the particular individuals that distributed it. (I do NOT believe this memo was approved by total Occupy community consensus, which would render it illegitimate in any case.)

@sbc
You said that "Last week there were 80 4th and 5th graders from Southwest Baltimore Charter School at Occupy Baltimore practicing direct democracy." Do you honestly believe that those 80 4th and 5th graders had any idea why they were their other then why their teacher told them they were there? Do you really believe that they have enough knowledge about government, the free market economy, socialism, public debt, and all of the other reasons these rally's are supposedly good or bad? No this is a teachers / schools influence on the political and social views of these children.