Last year, NPR and the Centre for Public Integrity did an excellent series on sexual assault on college campuses, the lack of support for victims, and the administrative problems with the handling of sexual assault on campus. Many colleges lack the personnel and training to handle rape cases, and the series highlighted the many problems […]
Tag: rape
Rape Culture, Above the Fold
Last year, I discussed the role of sexism in journalism and the fact that women working in journalism need to contend with sexism in the workplace, on interviews, in the field. In addition to the obstacles that can present themselves to journalists, like reluctant sources, obstructionist governments, and editorial budgets, women also need to deal […]
Social Justice and Joss Whedon: So Close, Yet So Far: Buffy/Spike
Content note: This post discusses BDSM and rape. One of the more complex, troublesome, and ultimately frustrating relationships on Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the Buffy/Spike relationship. Spike, originally introduced as a bit character, wormed his way into being a central character on the series, and with good reason. He’s complex, he’s dynamic, he’s interesting, […]
When Rape, Evidently, Isn’t Rape
If there’s one thing you encounter right quick when you talk about rape, it’s the attitude that only certain kinds of rapes ‘count’ and that there’s a specific scenario you can identify as ‘rape,’ while anything else isn’t, really. It’s one of the things I push back on over and over, and it seems like […]
False Accusations and Rhetoric
Every now and then, a story about false rape accusations breaks and becomes the all consuming story and narrative about rape for a few days, perpetuating a wide variety of incredibly harmful beliefs about rape and what happens when people file accusations of rape. It is extremely difficult to find statistics on false accusations, but […]
But, You Have To Report It!
Content warning: This post discusses rape and sexual assault, specifically within the context of what happens when rapes get reported. ‘What To Do When Someone Approaches To Tell You About Sexual Assault or Abuse‘ attracted a lot of attention last month. I got a lot of emails about it, and I read a lot of […]
True Blood: It Hurts Me Too
Content warning: This post contains discussions about True Blood through season three, episode three, ‘It Hurts Me Too.’ It also discusses violent sexuality that occurred in said episode. If you’d like to skip it, you can read ‘Glee and the Great Dichotomy,’ today’s feature post. I don’t think I want to do a True Blood […]
What To Do When Someone Approaches To Tell You About Sexual Assault or Abuse
When a person comes to you to tell you that ou has experienced sexual assault, rape, incest, molestation, or abuse, it’s a scary and intense thing. A lot of people freeze in this situation, even people who have experience with these kinds of conversation. Even (sometimes especially) people who have experienced these things themselves. It’s […]
This is Sexual Assault: The Importance of Calling Things by Their Proper Names
Content warning: This post includes, as you may imagine from the title, discussions of rape and sexual assault, and parts of it are graphic. One of the many obstacles faced in combating rape and sexual assault is that people are often reluctant to name these acts. While this may seem like a primarily academic concern, […]
‘Why Didn’t You Report It?’
One of the myriad of unhelpful statements offered to people when they talk about their rapes is ‘did you report it,’ which will be followed by ‘why didn’t you’ if no report was filed. It’s one among a pile of things which displays alarming ignorance, and it’s often accompanied by the attitude that someone wasn’t […]