Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is any kind of sexual act without consent for one or more persons involved, including sexual assault, rape, sexual abuse and trafficking. Anyone can be a victim of sexual violence.

Yearning to Breathe Free [Part 1 of 3]

PUBLISHED 10/15/2025 by

In the matter of K-E-S-G-, a Salvadoran woman stalked and threatened by gang members was denied asylum by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals on July 18, even though her persecution stemmed from her gender in a country that treats women as property. Advocates warn that this ruling could make it much harder for women fleeing violence to prove gender-based claims and may embolden immigration judges to discount their stories.

“This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has singled out women seeking asylum, and we know where this path leads,” said Neela Chakravartula of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. “More judges denying protection to women who qualify for it. More refugees being deported to danger.”

The decision highlights the ongoing struggle to recognize gender as a protected basis for asylum. Afghan and Salvadoran women, among others, may now face even steeper barriers to protection—a chilling effect that experts say could deter survivors from seeking safety in the U.S.

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.

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?”

The Part of the Epstein Story We Keep Ignoring? Survivors.

PUBLISHED 9/25/2025 by

Virginia Giuffre fought Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for decades. As a survivor of their trafficking, she spoke truth to power and endured public scrutiny as she became one of their most vocal and transparent accusers. On April 24, she died by suicide. 

Her death should have marked a devastating failure of our systems to support trafficking survivors. Instead, it became another footnote in a political circus focused on conspiracy theories and file releases.

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.”

How Epstein Survivors Made Their Voices Impossible to Ignore

PUBLISHED 9/9/2025 by

Earlier this summer, I sat with Liz Stein at a kitchen table in Brooklyn. A survivor of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, she was exhausted, and she was angry. A storm of media coverage of the Department of Justice’s interview of Maxwell left her surrounded by photos of her abusers, who had been enabled by the system so many times. When news came that Maxwell had been transferred to a minimum-security facility, Liz hit her breaking point. Once again, survivors were being talked about—not heard. 

It was around that kitchen table that an idea was born: What if we could shift the narrative? What if we could bring Liz, and numerous Epstein survivors, together to reclaim the microphone? Rather than magnifying the voice of a convicted perjurer and abuser, we could instead amplify the voices of survivors who had been silenced. Fast-forward to Sept. 3, when over 20 Epstein-Maxwell survivors descended on Washington, D.C.

As I stood there watching survivor after survivor speak out, I was struck by the surrounding community of survivors who came to D.C. to show their support. And then something amazing happened—we were approached by several women we had not met before, who disclosed that they too were Epstein survivors. They told us, “I needed to be here today. I needed to listen to my survivor sisters. This gave me strength and empowered me for the very first time.” One woman told me it was the first time she’d said out loud that Epstein had abused her. Courage is contagious.

‘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.

Keeping Score: Democrats Fight Republican Redistricting; Periods Make College Students Miss Class; Costco Refuses to Sell (Safe, Legal) Abortion Pills to Appease Antiabortion Politics

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week:
—“I am deeply alarmed by news reports that Costco is refusing to sell safe, effective, and legal medication for no other reason than to appease the politics of antiabortion fanatics,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
—The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee called for Democrat-led state legislatures to pursue redistricting: “The DLCC refuses to allow Republicans to rig the maps to keep themselves in power.”
—“A troubling shift is underway: Women are leaving the U.S. workforce in unprecedented numbers. But this isn’t a choice; it’s a consequence,” warned Catalyst president and CEO Jennifer McCollum after a report showed 212,000 women have left the workforce since January.
—A third of college students have missed class because of their period.
—The Trump administration is planning to restrict coverage of abortion care for veterans in almost all circumstances.
—RFK Jr. takes aim at antidepressant use during pregnancy, despite American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ approving of their usage.
—Texas’ abortion ban has made miscarriages more dangerous.
—A federal court blocked the Trump administration’s restrictions on grants from the Office on Violence Against Women. Seventeen states had challenged the restrictions, and the order is a temporary win for organizations supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence. 

… and more.

“When and Where Do We Get to This Place Called ‘Fair?’” What Political Scientist and Survivor Vanessa Tyson Wants the Feminist Future to Look Like

PUBLISHED 8/22/2025 by

The professor, advocate and veteran of multiple political campaigns reflected in the latest episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward on her journeys to both survivor advocacy and politics—and the ways in which our political structures reinforce the injustices survivors face writ large across the country.

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.