Questions surrounding United Farm Workers of America co-founder Cesar Chavez and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta have resurfaced following a recent investigative report. The New York Times published findings earlier this month, on March 18, detailing extensive allegations of sexual assault and abuse connected to Chavez.

Allegations Surface Against Chavez

Named Survivors Share Horrific Accounts

The report features accounts from at least three named survivors: Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas, and Dolores Huerta. Their experiences detail a pattern of abuse spanning years.

The accounts include repeated sexual assaults against Murguia and Rojas when they were children. Huerta disclosed experiencing abuse as an adult at the hands of Chavez.

Confronting Violence Within Movements

As these stories emerge, there is a critical need to confront sexual violence within social justice movements, both past and present. Confronting Chavez’s alleged actions does not negate the significant achievements of the UFW.

We must still learn from the victories, such as the grape boycotts, the fight for better wages, and progress on limiting harmful pesticides. True learning builds upon the legacy of broad-based farmworker struggle.

The Pervasive Culture of Silence

The Cost of Disclosure for Survivors

The violent encounters shared by Murguia, Rojas, and Huerta are deeply horrific. The overwhelming nature of such trauma often causes survivors to freeze or shut down.

Sexual violence thrives in silence, fueled by the misconception that it is a private matter for survivors to manage discreetly. For generations, women were told that disclosing abuse by powerful men in social movements would undermine the cause itself.

Huerta Explains Her Silence

Dolores Huerta, in her first interview after disclosing the abuse, addressed Maria Hinojosa of Latino USA regarding her long-standing support of Chavez. Hinojosa asked how she could explain her fidelity to Chavez now.

Huerta responded by emphasizing the accomplishments for farmworkers, such as securing basic human needs like bathrooms, drinking water, and rest periods. She stated her silence was driven by the fear that speaking out would harm the movement.

Huerta noted, "I don't shame any survivor who felt they couldn't speak up, either for their own safety or because they believed that speaking up would harm the people around them." Many survivors grieve the reality of having to choose between bodily autonomy and the movements they dedicate their lives to.

Revisiting Power Dynamics in Activism

Sexual Violence and Distorted Power

It is wrong to brace against the possibility of sexual violence occurring in movements; we must build our work assuming it is possible and likely. Sexual violence is common not because activists are inherently violent, but due to a collective, "messed-up relationship to power."

Sexual violence and power are intrinsically linked. Movements vulnerable to charismatic leaders abusing power are often those seeking someone "smarter, stronger, and more compelling" to provide all the answers.

Building Collective Power for Change

Movements free from sexual violence require reliance on collective power and shared, rotational leadership, built step by step by millions of people. The pattern of ignoring conditions leading to violence until survivors speak out at great personal cost must end.

When we force survivors into the false choice of hiding abuse or destroying their movement, we undermine our core principles. We must build the capacity to face these realities and change work structures to prevent recurrence.

The survival of our movements depends on structural change. We must stop being surprised by disclosures and recognize gender-based violence as inextricably linked to how we live and organize. Only through structural change can we cultivate movements where safety is not traded for belonging.