Yesterday, the well-known Direct Action Everywhere organizer, Hugo Dominguez, admitted to multiple sex crimes, and the victims are all fellow activists. He manipulated, and lied to these individuals to order to steal or otherwise obtain photos that are sensitive in nature. He then shared them with others, without permission of the people in the photos.
Direct Action Everywhere has handled this horrifying breach of trust rather gracefully, and while most of the community is outraged there are victim blamers and misogynists abound. It is times like these that we within the animal rights community MUST admit that sexism runs rampant amongst activists. Ignoring the problem is not an option.
It is of vital importance that women feel safe in DxE’s community. In the past few days, we learned that there was a serious breach of trust on the part of one of our organizers, Hugo Dominguez. We take this breach very seriously and are taking all steps, guided by the women harmed, to ensure that Hugo is accountable for the harms he has caused.
On a forward-going basis, we are designating a few female members of our conflict resolution committee (Priya Sawhney and Maryam LK) to be available specifically where there is a concern over sexual harassment or misconduct. We absolutely encourage all activists in our network to reach out to these facilitators if any issues arise, and we will hold confidential any information provided to us in this regard. We will also provide resources for women who want to reach out to an outside group regarding this issue.
In the meantime, Hugo will be stepping back from his role as an organizer for the indefinite future and will seek out resources and counseling on consent culture and sexual harassment.
–Direct Action Everywhere FB post
He has issued a public “apology” on Facebook (no doubt only because he was caught, and told to do so by DxE).
Hi everyone. If we’re friends, it’s very possible you’ve heard allegations about my betrayal of women and others in the animal rights movement these past few days. It’s with much regret that I admit to those allegations. I’ve hurt, manipulated and exposed very explicit images and confidential information about female animal rights activists. I’ve broken many of the principles and values which I espouse. While claiming to stand against the exploitation of human beings as well as animals, I have betrayed the trust of many people within the community and disgracefully took advantage of my position in this movement and hurt many people. I am a hypocrite in many regards and can’t begin to image the suffering I’ve caused many women.
I want to use this post as a platform for people to vent their feelings towards me. Any comments showing sympathy or comfort will be deleted. If you don’t feel comfortable posting your sentiments on this post, you’re free to message Priya Sawhney and she’ll pass on the message to me. I’ll be leaving this post up for 48 hours and will be deactivating my account and stepping back from activism to seek help and take the proper steps so I never hurt and exploit women again.
I’m terribly sorry to all those I’ve disappointed, to the movement, but most importantly the women I’ve hurt who will probably be scarred due to my behavior. Thank you everyone for your time.
-Hugo Dominguez
I am urging all of you to break all ties with this individual, keep the pressure on DxE to stand by their statement and make sure that they continue to address to on-going problem within their organization (I believe they will). offer nothing but support to the victims. Do not speak over them. Do not pressure them to do or say something they are not comfortable with. Do not blame them. And for fucks sake, do not identify them publicly.
The animal rights movement has a human rights problem. If people within the AR community are not treated equally, with respect and kindness, how can we help our non-human friends effectively?
Be Their Sound 