TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Community members gathered in downtown Tucson Sunday to march in solidarity for justice, human dignity, and hope in honor of International Women's Day (IWD).
Demonstrators of all backgrounds came together to send a message that women need to be treated as equals. One demonstrator named Kristen traveled from Phoenix to show support and said enough is enough.
"We've been told what to be like, what not to be like, how to act, what to look like," Kristen explained.
Signs were held demanding justice for survivors of sexual violence. According to the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault, nearly one in five women will be raped in their lifetime, one in four girls will be sexually assaulted by the age of 18, one in five women is sexually assaulted while in college, and more than 25% of transgender individuals have been sexually assaulted after the age of 13.
"And as the files have been released, it's been solidified just how repressed we've been by these absolute sick people and I'm done with that. We're done with this," Kristen said. "We're done with having to be treated like we're second class citizens here. Nobody deserves to be treated this way. Everybody deserves to be treated just like any other human being, to have a basic human decency, to have basic human rights."
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva made an appearance at the march, speaking on the importance of women's rights.
"I'm the first Latina elected to Congress from the state of Arizona, but I will absolutely not be the last because in our community there are young women that are looking to us for leadership — and I want them to see us in spaces where our voices matter," Grijalva said. "That our opinion matters and we're going to let this administration know that you're not gonna take our rights away without a fight."
Karen Pope handed out roses to marchers as they finished the route. Pope said IWD is important to her and in her home, she made sure to raise her children to love all people and treat everyone with respect.
"When my kids were growing up, we lived in a very white suburban area and the way I taught them that the world wasn't all like that, was to host an international student every year for 17 years," Pope said.
"So I know a lot of international women and also women cared for my parents when they were dying from the Philippines and I have many friends from Mexico, and Bulgaria. So I really think this is an important day of unity and strength for women."
Men were also on the sidelines showing their support, including David Buss, who said he wants to see more done for women.
"Well, pay for one thing, And I see an awful lot of attitude that puts women in kind of a second place part of the thing, you know, it's just stupid," Buss said. "It's time to show solidarity with the women who've done so many things and proclaim freedom. It's going to happen. It's going to happen."
Sarah Bodine organized the march and said she is proud of everyone who showed up and wants to help create change.
"Sometimes we really do agree on more things than we disagree on across the political spectrum and it's great to see people come together for the values International Women's Day is about," Bodine said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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