Georgia Women Leaders Speak Out Against Brian Kemp for Failing to Protect Survivors of Rape and Sexual Assault

Georgia Women Leaders Speak Out Against Brian Kemp for Failing to Protect Survivors of Rape and Sexual Assault

Kemp’s Record Shows He Can’t Be Trusted to Protect Georgians

ATLANTA — Today, state elected officials, women’s rights activists, and survivors held a press conference to call out Brian Kemp for his long history of failing to protect and support survivors of rape and sexual assault.

As a state senator in 2005, Brian Kemp voted twice against restoring funding to the DeKalb County Rape Crisis Center. Amendment 4 to House Bill 84 would have removed administrative costs from the Office of the Governor to restore $25,000 in funding to the DeKalb Rape Crisis Center. Kemp voted against the amendment. Later that session, Amendment 6 to HB 85 would have added $25,000 to the center’s Family Violence Services Program. Once again, Kemp voted no.

“Programs like the Rape Crisis Center are absolutely essential to giving survivors the support they need to recover from immense trauma,” said activist and survivor Feroza Syed. “It is extremely troubling that any public servant, especially one running for Governor, would choose to place partisan interests over women in need.”

Participants in the press conference included Syed, Senators Tonya Anderson, Nan Orrock, and Elena Parent, Democratic Party of Georgia AAPI Constituency Director Grace Choi, NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia Lead Organizer Ericka Claudio, and Democratic Party of Georgia Women’s Constituency Director Bianca Keaton.

“These votes are only one part of Brian Kemp’s long history of putting Georgia women at risk,” said State Senator Elena Parent. “From his votes against funding for the Rape Crisis Center, to ignoring complaints of sexual assault, his record shows that he’s not interested in protecting all Georgians — just the ones who donate to his campaign.”

In addition to voting against supports for survivors of sexual assault, Brian Kemp’s history includes supporting a budget that was predicted to kick 9,000 pregnant women off of their healthcare, ignoring 96% of sexual assault complaints during his tenure as Secretary of State, and refusing to expand Medicaid to increase access to care for 500,000 Georgians.

###