Maybe because it was the holidays and my baby was sick, they thought I wasn’t paying attention… but I always got my eye on the UFC these days.

Ever since the organization decided to turn a blind eye to a rash of incidents of rape jokes and references to sexual violence by its fighters and even its president, Dana White, I have been working to encourage the UFC to enact a code of conduct, similar to that of most other major sports organizations.

Back in November I was part of a group of local mothers who rallied and called for swift action after Forrest Griffin tweeted that “Rape is the new missionary.” Since then, I’ve encouraged action through a petition, which has gotten signatures from people all over the world!

It’s a new year and there’s never been a better time for the UFC to step up and join the big leagues! Let’s encourage them to do the right thing and enact a code of conduct!

Sign the petition today!

This is an important cause to me because I am a survivor of sexual violence myself. And I have been fighting as an advocate for other survivors throughout my career — with my blog these past five years and in small ways during my decade’s long career as a journalist. I know we have a lot of important work to do together in 2012, but let’s make sure sexual violence survivors have their voices heard in the din.