Sexual Violence Awareness & Healthy Relationships

A group of men rape an intoxicated fifteen year old girl to "make a woman of her." An immigrant woman is raped after accepting a ride from a stranger. A young mother is accosted after a neighbor escorts her home. In another case, a college frat party is the scene of the crime. Although these incidents appear similar to accounts one can read in the newspapers almost any day in the United States, only the last one occurred in this century. Each, however, involved a woman or girl compelled to have sex against her will. Sex without Consent explores the experience, prosecution, and meaning of rape in American history from the time of the early contact between Europeans and Native Americans to the present. By exploring what rape meant in particular times and places in American history, from interracial encounters due to colonization and slavery to rape on contemporary college campuses, the contributors add to our understanding of crime and punishment, as well as to gender relations, gender roles, and sexual politics.

This book investigates the causes and consequences of image-based sexual abuse in a digital era. Image-based sexual abuse refers to the taking or sharing of nude or sexual photographs or videos of another person without their consent. It includes a diversity of behaviours beyond that of "revenge porn", such as the secret trading of nude or sexual images online; "upskirting", "downblousing" and other "creepshots"; blackmail or "sextortion" scams; the use of artificial intelligence to construct "deepfake" pornographic videos; threats to distribute photographs and videos without consent; and the taking or sharing of sexual assault imagery. This book investigates the pervasiveness and experiences of these harms, as well as the raft of legal and non-legal measures that have been introduced to better respond to and prevent image-based sexual abuse. The book draws on groundbreaking empirical research, including surveys in three countries with over 6,000 respondents and over 100 victim-survivor and stakeholder interviews. Although the motivations of perpetrators vary, a dominant theme to emerge was that of power and control. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, law and psychology. Image-based Sexual Abuse is also an essential resource for activists, legal and policy practitioners, technology companies and victim-survivors seeking to understand the deeply complex nature of intimate-image sharing in a digital era.

When we consider the concept of sexual abuse and harassment, our minds tend to jump either towards adults caught in unhealthy relationships or criminals who take advantage of children. But the millions of maturing teenagers who also deal with sexual harassment can fall between the cracks. When it comes to sexual relationships, adolescents pose a particular problem. Few teenagers possess all of the emotional and intellectual tools needed to navigate these threats, including the all too real advances made by supervisors, teachers, and mentors. Jennifer Drobac explores the shockingly common problem of maturing adolescents who are harassed and exploited by adults in their lives. Reviewing the neuroscience and psychosocial evidence of adolescent development, she explains why teens are so vulnerable to adult harassers. Even today, in an age of increasing public awareness, criminal and civil law regarding the sexual abuse of minors remains tragically inept and irregular from state to state. Drobac uses six recent cases of teens suffering sexual harassment to illuminate the flaws and contradictions of this system, skillfully showing how our current laws fail to protect youths, and offering an array of imaginative legal reforms that could achieve increased justice for adolescent victims of sexual coercion.

Representing Rape is the first feminist analysis of the language of sexual assault trials from the perspective of linguists. Susan Ehrlich argues that language is central to all legal settings - specifically sexual harassment and acquaintance rape hearings where linguistic descriptions of the events are often the only type of evidence available. Language does not simply reflect but helps to construct the character of the people and events under investigation. The book is based around a case study of the trial of a male student accused of two instances of sexual assault in two different settings: a university tribunal and a criminal trial. She shows how culturally-dominant notions about rape percolate through the talk of sexual assault cases in a variety of settings and ultimately shape their outcome. Ehrlich hopes that to understand rape trials in this way is to recognize their capacity for change. By highlighting the underlying preconceptions and prejudices in the language of courtrooms today, this important book paves the way towards a fairer judicial system for the future.

This timely handbook provides in-depth overviews of the myriad and multi-faceted issues surrounding sexual assault and its pervasiveness in today's culture. Drawing for multiple viewpoints and experts, the book is divided into seven comprehensive sections, covering such topics as risk factors, varying theoretical frameworks, prevention and intervention, and special populations. Within these sections the authors provide historical background as well as the latest research, and offer treatment outcomes and potentials.Selected topics covered in this book include: Feminist theories of sexual assault Social and economic factors surrounding sexual violence Mental, physiological, physical, and functional health concerns of victims, including PTSD Major categories of sexual offenders Treatment of sexual assault survivors in the LGBTQ+ community Procedural processes related to sexual assault investigation and adjudication within the criminal justice system The Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention is a vital book that will appeal to a broad spectrum of students, researchers, practitioners, and clinicians in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, community mental health, and sociology.

Sexual Assault Risk Reduction and Resistance explores the theory, research, and practice of sexual assault risk reduction, resistance education, and self-defense programs for women and other vulnerable groups, including sexual minorities, individuals with disabilities, and those with histories of victimization. Following an ecosystemic perspective, the book examines individual risk and protective factors for sexual victimization, as well as peer-, family-, community- and societal-level factors that influence risk for sexual violence and inform the content of programs. This volume brings together leading researchers and practitioners to operationalize sexual assault risk reduction approaches and highlights the rationale and need for risk reduction in the context of other sexual assault prevention efforts. The volume provides an overview of the history of this sexual assault prevention approach and addresses current controversies and questions in the field. The authors outline risk and protective factors for victimization and discuss how these factors guide risk reduction efforts. The volume also outlines the theory and effectiveness of current sexual assault risk reduction and resistance practices and addresses special populations and future directions. Reviews theoretical approaches to sexual assault risk reduction Summarizes program outcome studies Delineates feminist self-defense approaches Details what it means for prevention to be "trauma informed" Considers how to provide risk reduction without victim-blaming Confronts current controversies in the field of sexual assault risk reduction Details how prevention can address the role of alcohol in sexual violence Discusses international prevention efforts

Sexual Violence and Social Media: Building a Framework for Prevention explores the relationship between sexual violence and social media with a focus on youth. This Ottawa-based project includes five parts: 1. A review of literature on sexual violence, social media, and youth; 2. A survey of Ontario stakeholders; 3. interviews with Ottawa-based participants; 4. A scan of social media sites; and 5. A summary of a community forum and breakout group discussions of preliminary research findings. The research aims to investigate the relationship between sexual violence and social media among youth. It also offers recommendations to help stimulate discussions about prevention programming and evaluation in Ottawa.