Riggleman on Preventing Rape and Sexual Assault: “A Lot of It Comes to Educating Females”

For Immediate Release
October 9, 2018

Riggleman on Preventing Rape and Sexual Assault: “A Lot of It Comes to Educating Females”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night in the fifth debate between Leslie Cockburn and her Republican opponent Denver Riggleman in Virginia's 5th District at Piedmont Virginia Community College, the candidates were asked about their proposals to reduce incidences of rape and sexual assault. Denver Riggleman responded by saying that “a lot of it comes to educating females.” In response, Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications at EMILY's List, released the following statement: 

“It says everything you need to know about Denver Riggleman that when he was asked for a policy proposal to prevent rape and sexual assault, he said that 'a lot of it comes to educating females.' From wanting to end health care access for millions of Americans to supporting the defunding of Planned Parenthood, Riggleman's policies are not only wrong for women, but they are offensive to millions of families and survivors. We need a true champion for women in this seat, which is why EMILY's List is proud to stand with Leslie Cockburn.” 

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Since the 2016 election, thousands of women and counting have reached out to us about running for office. To harness this energy, EMILYs List has launched Run to Win, an unprecedented effort to get more women to run at the local, state, and national levels.