Woodside, CA (November 12, 2024) – #WeRideTogether, a non-profit whose mission is to prevent sexual misconduct in sport through education, awareness, and resources, is continuing its commitment to develop action-oriented educational resources with the release of two, in-depth Know Your Rights guides. Comprehensive, digestible and straightforward, Know Your Rights: SafeSport and Know Your Rights: Title IX aim to arm survivors and their loved ones with the knowledge they need to enter a reporting process informed and ready.

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Know Your Rights: SafeSport is notably the first-ever comprehensive guide to the U.S. Center for SafeSport process for complainants, explaining rights and procedures. The Center enforces standards of behavior for the more than 11 million participants and receives and investigates reports of misconduct from individuals who partake in U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) sports. Before the publication of #WeRideTogether’s Know Your Rights: SafeSport, no guide to the reporting process existed.  

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Know Your Rights: Title IX is a comprehensive guide to Title IX processes in K-12, university, public and private education in the U.S. that reviews rights, procedures, and the reporting and investigative process. Title IX is the federal rule that mandates that educational institutions cannot discriminate “on the basis of sex” – a rule that has been widely interpreted to ensure that educational institutions are responsible for keeping the learning environment abuse-free. 

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"#WeRideTogether and the Fierberg National Law Firm are combining their expertise and resources to ensure that athletes have the best information and resources to learn about the risks of sexual abuse in sports so they can play and compete safely. These resources will also inform athletes of the resources available to them to protect themselves, achieve their academic or athletic goals, and obtain justice in the event they suffer abuse,” says Doug Fierberg.

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“It is essential for victims of misconduct to be armed with accurate information and to know their rights before going through a difficult and oftentimes retraumatizing reporting process,” says #WeRideTogether Communications Manager, Madison Smith, the primary author of the series. “Survivors deserve to have every possible tool at their disposal to pursue justice if they so choose.”

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For more information and to find these guides, check out #WeRideTogether’s Resources page. 

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Visit WeRideTogether.today to watch compelling PSAs, find educational tools and resources, and learn how you can help keep sports safe for everyone.

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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SERIES SUPPORTERS 

#WeRideTogether is supported in the Know Your Rights series by Doug Fierberg and Cari Simon of the Fierberg National Law Group. The Fierberg National Group has a nationwide practice of representing survivors of hazing, sexual abuse, and other misconduct, including persons hurt or abused in sports, schools, Greek organizations, in the entertainment and religious industries, and in numerous other circumstances. 

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#WeRideTogether was also supported in this series by Elysse Stolpe, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Waynesboro, Va., lecturer at the prestigious University of Virginia School of Law, and ChildUSA board member.

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ABOUT #WERIDETOGETHER

Founded in 2021, #WeRideTogether started as an awareness campaign and educational website designed to empower, inform and unite the equestrian community around sexual misconduct prevention and create healthy training environments for all sports. Showcasing powerful first-person interviews from sexual abuse survivors, #WeRideTogether promotes transparent dialogue around sexual misconduct, raises awareness for the many forms grooming and abuse can take, and helps diminish the stigma and fear of coming forward by giving survivors a safe platform to share their voices. The organization has since grown into a 501c3 and is creating a blueprint to help make all sports safer for youth, amateur, and professional athletes.