National Organization for Women
New York City
2014 Susan B. Anthony Awards Honorees
Natasha Alexenko
At the age of 19, Natasha Alexenko was raped and robbed at gunpoint in NYC. Due to a backlog of thousands of rape kits, it took nearly 16 years to process her rape kit and identify her attacker. While her kit collected dust on a shelf, this rapist was on a nationwide crime-spree. Driven by a need to prevent this ongoing injustice, she started Natasha’s Justice Project, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating the 400,000 untested sexual assault evidence kits throughout the country. Her story was featured in HBO’s critically acclaimed documentary, Sex Crimes Unit. Natasha is a survivor, an activist, and an educator who is single-handedly changing the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault.
Martha Bashford
Martha Bashford has dedicated the last 35 years of her life to fighting for justice for sexual assault survivors. As the Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Martha’s inspiring legal career has been a model for the prosecutions of sex crimes and human trafficking cases across the country. As Co-Chief of the DNA Cold Case Project, she was tasked with using DNA technology to investigate and prosecute unsolved sexual assault cases. Her work does not stop in the courtroom—she lectures extensively throughout the US and Canada on her experiences in establishing a Cold Case Unit and reviving dormant cases. She is a pioneering sex-crimes prosecutor who has tried nearly 100 felony cases, many of which involved serial sexual predators.
Anu Bhagwati
Anu Bhagwati is a former Marine Corps captain who is on the frontlines combating discrimination and sexual violence against servicewomen on a national scale. After being honorably discharged in 2004, she set out to address the sexual harassment, racism, and homophobia she witnessed firsthand in the armed forces. Soon the Service Women’s Action Network was born. Under her leadership, SWAN has spearheaded national policy reform and litigation to end sexual assault, sexual harassment and sex discrimination in the military. She is a driving force in exposing the military rape crisis and in removing multiple barriers to equal opportunity for servicewomen.
Zoe Ridolfi-Starr
Zoe Ridolfi-Starr is a student activist who has emerged as a powerful voice for sexual assault policy reform on college campuses. As the lead complainant and organizer of the federal Title IX action filed against Columbia University, she has her hands full, but nothing has slowed down her on-campus work advocating for student and survivor rights. Zoe is a co-founder of No Red Tape Columbia and spearheaded the successful campaign to get free emergency contraception on campus. In addition she works with the national organizations Know Your IX and End Rape on Campus. Through meeting with policymakers across the city, uniting students behind meaningful action, and refusing to back down, Zoe has proven to be a fearless leader breaking ground for women and survivors everywhere.
Emma Sulkowicz
Emma Sulkowicz is an artist with a vision that has captured the hearts of people nationwide. In her new work, “Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight),” Emma has committed to carrying a mattress with her at all times on campus at Columbia University, symbolizing the burden that many sexual assault survivors carry with them everyday. Her piece has resonated deeply with survivors, students, and the public. Emma’s artistic ability to translate her experience into artwork is a bold a courageous move and has created a massive student following. Her work is transforming the national conversation on sexual assault, inspiring students to question rape culture and giving survivors the courage to break their silence.
NOW National
The Service Fund
[…] It’s actually the second honor Sulkowicz has received from NOW, having previously received its Susan B. Anthony Award in 2014, when she was honored for “transforming the national conversation on sexual […]