The 18-year-old escaped sex trafficking; now, she faces a prison term. Her case isn’t an anomaly for Black women and girls, and many aren’t seen as victims, advocates say.
Tag: Rape Culture
The ‘B’ Is Silent: How Skepticism About Bisexuality Harms Women’s Health
Among straight women, the prevalence of rape is 18.7 percent, but among bisexual women it soars to 46.1 percent. Hypersexualization of bi women is so widespread that it’s barely noticed—unless, of course, you’re a bi woman. And hypersexualization isn’t the only threat facing bi women. Myths and stereotypes give rise to discrimination against bi women in the workplace, in school and in other arenas.
(This article originally appears in the Spring 2023 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get the issue delivered straight to your mailbox!)
Why a Global Treaty Would Help End Violence Against Women and Girls
Ms. contributor Michelle Onello and co-founder of Every Woman Treaty, Lisa Shannon, discuss the causes and consequences of the recent rise in violence against women and girls, why a global treaty is necessary to meet their needs worldwide, and the prospects for moving forward with a treaty in the current political climate.
“In the absence of a global framework, we are allowing generations of frontline women’s rights activists to be stalked, harassed, beaten, murdered and chased out of their countries and forced to live in exile.”
War on Women Report: Mike Pence Calls for Nationwide Ban on Abortion Pills; Minnesota Is First State to Protect Abortion Rights in 2023
U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
This month: New mother Arleta Ramirez was ordered to use a bottle instead of breastfeeding; tracking multiple attacks on access to medication abortion; CNN co-anchor Don Lemon knows when women are in their prime; both Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly were sentenced, and more.
California’s Latest Legal Change Reduces a Significant Barrier to Suing Rapists
California prides itself in having many survivor-friendly laws and in 2019 announced its much-hyped 10-year statute of limitations for civil remedies for adult survivors of sexual assault. Too many survivors have not benefited from this 2019 law (CCP 340.16).
But, as of Jan. 1, 2023, CCP 340.16 clearly outlines that the 10-year statute of limitations applies retroactively to sexual assaults that occurred before the statute was first enacted on Jan. 1, 2019. To rectify prior confusion, the amended statute provides for a three-year window, until Dec. 31, 2025, wherein survivors can file their civil claims for sexual assaults that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2009.
U.S. Rape Culture Is Sidelining and Silencing Future Female Leaders
The recent CDC report on the health of U.S. high school students was sharply contextualized by chief medical officer Dr. Deborah Houry’s headline-grabbing remark at the report’s release: “America’s teen girls are engulfed in a growing wave of sadness, violence and trauma.”
Rape culture is defined in part by its tolerance of subjection of women to a continuum of threats. Rape culture is also characterized by sexism, which involves normalized denigration and dismissal of women. Failure to address these conditions for young girls creates more hurdles on their paths to success and the possibility of public leadership—where the ranks of women leaders continue to be proportionally much smaller than they are for men.
Pondering ‘Women Talking’: What if Women Left Society?
Sarah Polley’s Academy Award-nominated film Women Talking imagines a world where women and trans people must reckon with intolerable violence perpetrated by cis men. Is it really so different from our own?
Now Is the Time for Asian American Women Like Me to Break the Taboo on Intimate Partner Violence
I’m an Asian American woman who serves on the city council in Eastvale, Calif. I’ve served as mayor there. I’m also a survivor of intimate partner violence, and it’s time for me to talk about it.
Up to 55 percent of Asian women report experiencing intimate partner violence. In 236 cases involving homicides of AAPI (Asian and Pacific Islander) women, 58 percent with known causes were related to intimate partner violence, with 81 percent of perpetrators being the victim’s current intimate partner, and 10 percent a former intimate partner. There is power in sharing stories like mine to come to terms with our past, and to help other women dealing with situations like this in the present or in the future.
Combating K-12 Sexual Harassment and Violence: How Far Have We Come?
Seven years ago, two parents whose child was sexually assaulted on a high school field trip created the nonprofit Stop Sexual Assault in Schools (SSAIS) after demanding accountability from the Seattle school district. In the website’s inaugural blog, Fatima Goss Graves, now president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, wrote: “If we do not bring a serious focus to the problem of sexual harassment and assault in elementary and secondary schools, it will be nearly impossible to make real progress at any other level of education.”
In the last decade, when it comes to stopping sexual harassment and assault in elementary and secondary schools, how far have we come?
Could You Detect a Coercive Controller Like Simon in ‘Alice, Darling’? I Didn’t—Until It Was Too Late.
“He doesn’t hurt me or anything.”
If there’s one line that sums up Alice, Darling—and every psychological abuse victim’s inner chaos—it’s this one.