Sexual Assault

Hegseth’s Call to ‘Toughness’ Sparks Concerns About Military Sexual Violence

PUBLISHED 10/13/2025 by

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently vowed to enforce “tough” new rules of engagement for the U.S. military, declaring there would be “no more walking on eggshells.” Critics say his rhetoric risks normalizing aggression and sexual violence both within the ranks and in combat.

Hegseth, a member of a Christian nationalist church that promotes patriarchy, also called for past infractions by so-called “tough” leaders to be expunged. Sexual assault in the military remains pervasive: the Department of Defense reported 8,195 cases in 2024, and estimates suggest nearly a quarter of active-duty women experience sexual assault during their service.

Historically, rape has been used as a weapon of war, from ancient Israel to World War II, and it continues today in conflicts abroad and at home. Experts warn that leadership matters—policies and rhetoric that prioritize violent masculinity put survivors at serious risk.

Pete Hegseth Doubles Down on His Culture War Against Feminism

PUBLISHED 10/10/2025 by

Many of the military officers who sat through Pete Hegseth’s and Donald Trump’s speeches about not tolerating “fat generals” and the need for “male standards” of physical fitness, are men who have not only served with highly capable, talented and accomplished women; many of them have mentored and promoted them as well. They know how vital and indispensable women are to functioning militaries in the modern era.

Secretary Hegseth’s speech was more than an announcement of new Pentagon priorities. It was, in many ways, a performative declaration of what is a much wider right-wing culture war against feminism.

Escaping Abuse Isn’t Easy. Here’s What Survivors and Experts Want You to Know.

PUBLISHED 10/8/2025 by

On Oct. 3, Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine. Throughout, the question echoed: “Why didn’t she just leave?” 

“That’s the wrong question,” said Tonya King, vice president of programs at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. “We need to start asking: How can we keep a survivor safe in the first place?”

Five Ways We Can Support Women in Recovery Without Punishing Them

PUBLISHED 9/29/2025 by

Recovery is not just a personal journey—it is a struggle shaped by policies that too often punish women rather than support them. From losing custody of their children to facing barriers in treatment and the criminal legal system, women with substance use disorder encounter hurdles that men rarely experience. Trauma, stigma and inadequate access to care create a landscape where seeking help can feel like choosing between survival and motherhood.

My sister’s story—years of overdose, illness and family separation—mirrors countless others who live at the intersection of addiction, gender and policy neglect.

The solutions are clear but rarely implemented. Women need access to care that recognizes their lived realities, programs that allow them to keep their families together, and protections that prevent survival strategies from being criminalized. Trauma-informed, women-specific treatment, expanded childcare, extended postpartum coverage, and decriminalization of behaviors tied to survival are not optional—they are essential. Until our systems prioritize dignity, equity and healing, the numbers will keep rising and the stories will keep repeating. Recovery must be recognized as a right, not a risk.

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The road to recovery—and the right to recovery—is essential to a free and fair democracy. This essay is part of a new multimedia collection exploring the intersections of addiction, recovery and gender justice. The Right to Recovery Is Essential to Democracy is a collaboration between Ms. and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health at Georgetown Law, in honor of National Recovery Month.

The Push to Eliminate New York State’s Voluntary Intoxication Loophole: ‘You Should Be Allowed to Get Drunk and Not Be Taken Advantage Of’

PUBLISHED 9/19/2025 by

Under current New York law, if someone was drinking by choice when they were assaulted, prosecutors can decide not to pursue the case. This law provides prosecutors with an out when it comes to sexual assault, and statistics show they take it. In 2019, prosecutors dropped nearly half of all sexual assault cases in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. A bill proposed in the state legislature is looking to make it harder for prosecutors to throw out sexual assault and rape cases by prohibiting the use of intoxication of the victim as a defense. 

Nevada Just Made Teen Abortion Way Harder—Even in the Worst Situations

PUBLISHED 9/12/2025 by

Imagine you’re a teen in foster care, and you’re pregnant. The father is your abusive foster parent. Nevada’s newly enforced parental notification law means you can’t get an abortion without telling him. 

“The assumption that a parent is always the safest and most trusted person in an adolescent’s life is a falsehood,” said Dr. Laura Dalton. “Sometimes parents are abusive. Sometimes the parent is the perpetrator of sexual assault. For these patients, requiring parental involvement can be dangerous.”

‘A Patriarchal, Male-Dominated, Use-of-Violence Society Is Not Good for Anybody’: Ellen Sweet on the Historic Ms. Study of Campus Rape, 40 Years Later

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

The former senior editor and writer for Ms. coordinated what became the first-ever national survey of campus sexual violence. In the latest episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, Sweet assesses what she learned from the study about rape, activism, and backlash—and what has and hasn’t changed since it was published.

Listen to the latest episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, “How Feminists are Breaking the Cycle of Gender-Based Violence and Harassment (with Ellen Sweet, Jane Caputi, Vanessa Tyson, Victoria Nourse, and Debra Katz)” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tradwives and ‘The People That People Come Out Of’

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

For the first time in years, the number of U.S. mothers with young children in the workforce is shrinking—over 212,000 women left between January and June 2025 alone.

Childcare costs, in-office pressures, and a cultural nudge toward traditional gender roles are pushing moms out, while men in power nod along.

Meanwhile, the tradwife movement parades its perfect, baked-from-scratch, filtered-life versions of domesticity online, making the impossible look effortless.

It’s absurd. It’s dangerous. And it’s time we stop letting the economy treat raising kids as invisible labor.

Hegseth’s Tacit Endorsement of Disenfranchising Women Should Alarm Every American

PUBLISHED 8/21/2025 by

Pete Hegseth’s church’s doctrine is clear: It teaches that wives should submit to their husbands and allows male church members to cast church votes for the whole household. Its co-founder Doug Wilson says that adopting the 19th Amendment—which granted women the right to vote—was a “bad idea.” 

When Congress returns in a few weeks, lawmakers should reject the SAVE Act—or be prepared to answer to millions of American women.

How E. Jean Carroll Fought Trump in Court—And Won

PUBLISHED 8/15/2025 by

At least 27 women have accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, with allegations ranging from harassment to sexual assault and rape. Trump has denied every charge, often dismissing the accusing women by claiming he’d never met them—or suggesting they weren’t attractive enough for him to assault.

In 2019, during Trump’s first term, author, journalist and longtime Elle magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll came forward with the allegation that Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf department store’s dressing room in New York City in the mid 1990s. As usual, Trump denied the allegations, prompting Carroll to sue him for defamation as well as battery under New York’s Adult Survivors Act.

But the jury believed Carroll. In 2023, she won the lawsuit.