[Trigger Warning: sexual violence against women and minors]
On Wednesday March 18, 2026, news broke that organizer César Chavéz had raped his colleague, Dolores Huerta, as well as two children - Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas. The New York Times story - a detailed and harrowing account - was the result of months of investigative journalism, and the extraordinary courage of these women.
As the ICL team read this information, we responded first as people. We felt a deepening sense of rage, horrifying moments of vulnerable recognition, and the wash of numbness that is so often a response to despair.
We know that many, many people around the world must have read the story and experienced the same kinds of feelings. Fellow survivors, Latinx organizers, women, trade unionists; so many people who have, like us, found hope and courage in the practices of organizing, felt betrayed and outraged.
Movements are more than one man; and one man’s abhorrent actions do not diminish the extraordinary wave of power that many thousands of farm workers, united, created for themselves. But upholding this truth does not excuse failing to grapple honestly with what we have learned about Chavéz.
We feel a particular responsibility to do so knowing that the relational organizing framework we teach at ICL is significantly based on Marshall Ganz’s reflections on how the United Farm Workers achieved astonishing victories at its peak – which we now know includes times when the movement’s charismatic leader was raping his collaborators and their children. In their testimony, Chavéz’s victims make it clear that some of the same skills that made him an exceptional organizer – his deep mastery of people, relationships, and power – also made him exceptionally dangerous to the women and children in his orbit. It would be easier if these two things could be cleanly separated, but they can’t. And we recognize that this abuse occurred in a patriarchal structure which allowed Chavéz to thrive while committing these crimes. The ICL team is left to grapple, in this moment of horror and outrage, with how we can build and support movements where vulnerable people are consistently protected.
It leads us to the undeniable truth that all organizers have a responsibility to be aware of, and guard against, predatory behaviour and actions. That movements must have structures that enact transparency and that they must create conditions for accountability - for everyone, in every role.
We recognize that ICL - as an organization that teaches relational organizing - has a duty to ensure that those structures are built into the very foundations of movements. We also recognize that they need to be present in our own organization.
To that end, we commit to reviewing our core curriculum and internal training with an intersectional feminist and trauma-informed lens, to make sure that we explicitly address the risks of abusing power and emotional connection. Fostering safety and accountability isn’t secondary to building strategic capacity – we have to consistently address them together. Further, we commit to examining our internal processes for our team - board members, facilitators, volunteers, and staff - in order to clarify our expectations and processes for accountability and repair.
We have started working groups to take on these activities. If you would like to contribute to this work, please get in touch with our Director of Programs Graeme Lamb or our Board Chair Erin Filby.
If you have feedback for us, or are concerned about situations in which ICL failed to create a culture that felt safe, transparent and affirming, we would like to hear that as well. If you know of people who are doing the work of preventing abuse or exploitation in organizing practices and spaces, we would love to learn from them; please let us know about their names, or books, articles and other works by email or in the comments.
As a last thought, we would like to encourage you to notice how engaging with this situation feels for you. If it has left you with feelings you cannot shake such as feelings of anger, despair, disconnection, or with memories that are intruding on your daily life, we encourage you to take care of yourself with the same courage and love you show your community. Think about what you need and who you can reach out to for help and support. If you are struggling to think of people, here are some free, confidential community resources that might be useful:
https://endingviolencecanada.org/sexual-assault-centres-crisis-lines-and-support-services/
