In November, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released a proposal for new rules regulating how schools respond to issues like sexual harassment and assault. We are still in the midst of a comment period which could help stop these damaging changes.
Cheryl Zondi is a 22-year-old University of Johannesburg student studying social work. On October 15, Zondi began what would be a three-day-long trial at Port Elizabeth High Court based on her allegations that her church leader, Pastor Timothy Omotoso, raped her between the years 2010 and 2015.
On Friday, United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released the Department of Education’s new proposed regulations for Title IX which put the burden of proof on sexual assault survivors to defend their claims of assault.
The stories of the silenced matter, even when the outcome of sharing them are not necessarily concrete.
In light of the Women's Media Center's brand new report evaluating the impact of #MeToo, Ashley Judd — Chair of the WMC Speech Project and one of the instigators of the #MeToo movement — spoke to Women Under Siege's Lauren Wolfe about her role in the movement, what #MeToo has accomplished, and what it will still accomplish in the future.
Dr. Blasey Ford herself has largely been seen as credible, which in turn appears to be a sign of cultural progress. Yet the public narrative that has been maintained about perpetrators has not progressed in tandem with this evolved view of survivors.
After almost a year of unprecedented media attention on the topic of rape culture, America’s newest college students may be better armed with a clear understanding of the once-taboo topic of sexual assault than any before them.
Psychology and medical students and social workers need to learn how to accommodate people that have been through the trauma of rape or they will continue to not only be unable to help but also worsen the experiences of one out of every eight people.
Over 42 women had been kidnapped or killed in Uganda since May 2017. Ugandan politicians didn’t seem to take these deaths seriously. A feminist group called the Women’s Protest Working Group transformed Ugandan feminists' Twitter conversations into a march.
The Tale is based on the real Jennifer Fox’s life, specifically focusing on the sexual abuse she endured as a child from her riding coach (Elizabeth Debicki) and her running coach (Jason Ritter). The film is an exploration of memories, and how these memories intersect with the truth.
Our society has failed to recognize many manifestations of sexual violence as serious threats, engaging instead in a long history of blaming victims for their inability to extricate themselves from an unwanted sexual encounter.
In early May, a 19-year-old girl named Noura Hussein was sentenced to death by a court in Sudan. The verdict came after Hussein killed her husband, whom she was forced to marry at 15 and who allegedly raped her.
On May 10, Spotify announced it will essentially act as an omniscient curator of the music of two problematic (if not criminal) artists: R. Kelly and XXXTentacion. Both of the artists’ music will still be available on the service, but Spotify will no longer actively promote their work.
Prout has been an activist and advocate ever since she was sexually assaulted by a student at the elite prep school St. Paul’s in 2014. She has since launched the hashtag and movement #IHaveTheRightTo. This month, Prout published a memoir: I Have The Right To: A High School Survivor’s Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope.
On April 26, 2018, the provincial court of Navarra, Spain, ruled that five men had not raped a Spanish woman, but sexually abused her. Under Spanish law, sexual abuse is a crime that does not use intimidation or violence, and therefore warrants a lesser sentence than does rape.
The first day of the retrial resulted in a 10.5-hour jury deliberation, but failed to result in a verdict. But on the second, Cosby was found guilty on all three counts of sexual assault. While the judge has not yet set a date to sentence Cosby, each of the counts is punishable by up to ten years in state prison.
By 17 years old, Brazilian swimmer Joanna Maranhão had already broken her country’s record by taking fifth place in the 400 meters at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Four years later, memories of the sexual abuse Maranhão suffered at nine years old at the hands of a former swim coach had come back to haunt her.
For the first time, Diaz dismantles the mask he, much like Yunior, wore for years and shows New Yorker readers a surprisingly uncensored view behind it.
I always assumed that if I found myself in a situation like this I would report it and feel a sense of justice. But when forced to confront it, the reporting process seemed vengeful and futile.
With every successful movement inevitably comes backlash, and the #MeToo movement is no exception.
When we got off the bus, everything changed. I felt my innocence leave me that day as I began to grasp what it meant to be a woman.
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act aims to eliminate corporate policies that allow companies to silence victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Just as my initial coping mechanism post-assault was to demonize my perpetrator and eschew nuance in the name of healing, I worry that perhaps that has been our wider cultural approach.
Men have only been surprised by #MeToo because they haven't been forced to confront the ways in which women’s lives are so frequently tinged with the feeling that they must defend themselves against men’s tendencies to sexualize them.
Those accused of misconduct, assault, and harassment have ranged from small actors to big-shot producers, but almost all were male. Almost, but not all: female singer Timothy Heller recently accused alternative pop singer Melanie Martinez of assaulting her.