What is Consent?
- Consent EdThis website provides useful information about what consent is, common myths about sexual assault and consent, sexual assault, rape culture and taking action.
Survivor Accounts
- We're Called Survivors Because We're Still HereThis is a letter to survivors of sexual assault that seeks to give advice and emotional support. For those who have not experienced sexual assault, it provides a good window into the thoughts and feelings of one survivor.
- Dear Harvard - You WinThis letter originally posted in the Harvard Crimson (school newspaper) details one woman's battle to have her institution punish her assailant. It also details the impact of the assault on her emotional, social and academic life.
- What Many Men Don't Understand about Sexual AssaultIn this article, a young man who was sexually assaulted while traveling abroad details what he learned about the assumptions and misperceptions that many people have about sexual assault.
- MaleSurvivorA nonprofit organization that works to raise awareness about sexual abuse against men and boys. They provide information about the issue as well as resources for survivors.
- Sexual Assault in the MilitaryThis article discusses the issue of sexual assault within the military and shows a spotlight of how male victims of sexual assault are systematically silenced. On a rhetorical level, the many quotes included from interviews with survivors, psychologists and military personell provides a window into how we talk about sexual assault. NOTE: GRAPHIC MATERIAL
- Voices of CourageLink to a free E-book or audiobook in which survivors tell their stories of assault, recovery and growth.
What is Sexual Assault?
- When the Rapist Doesn't See it as RapeThis article discusses a study in which college men admitted to having sex with someone who didn't want to. It debunks misperceptions about sexual assault: that it is perpetrated by strangers or that sexual assault involving alcohol is just a "misunderstanding" or something the survivor "regretted." NOTE: SOME GRAPHIC MATERIAL
- Rape MythsThese are responses to common myths about rape. They are put together by a nonprofit in the United Kingdom, but they also apply to the United States and sexual assault.
- University of Iowa Sexual Misconduct PolicyThis page details the university's policy in sexual misconduct cases involving students. The page gives definitions of the different types of sexual misconduct, the rights of alleged assailants and survivors, and details the process of making a complaint.
- Iowa Laws - Sexual AssaultThis is the section of Iowa law that details sexual assault, sexual abuse, and voyeurism, among others.
Tools for Further Research
- GenderWatch This link opens in a new windowPrimarily a full text database with some abstracts that contains periodicals, academic journals, newsletters, magazines, regional publications, and government reports focused on gender and women's issues. [Not compatible with Internet Explorer 9]
- The University WireThis is a compilation of university news stories and press releases from over 600 university news organizations. This can provide useful insight into how different universities are talking about and dealing with sexual assault on their campuses. What is the national dialogue and how does it vary from place to place?
The link above is for the UWire archives, but you can see their latest articles and postings at uwire.com
- Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 This link opens in a new windowA set of learning modules in the form of mini-monographs, each of which is organized around a specific question about a single social movement. Each module contains fifteen to twenty documents that address the question.
- Women and Social Movements, International— 1840 to Present This link opens in a new windowOnline archive of published and manuscript primary sources focusing on women’s international activism since the mid-nineteenth century. The archive includes proceedings of women’s international conferences, books, pamphlets, articles from newspapers and journals, as well as correspondence, diary entries, and memoirs. Also contains numerous online publications of contemporary Non-Governmental Organizations.
- Struggle for Women's Rights, Organizational Records, 1880-1990 This link opens in a new windowAs the movement for women’s suffrage in America was accelerating, the National Woman’s Party (NWP) brought to the campaign a new militancy and daring. Originally a committee of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), the NWP was founded in 1913 when Alice Paul and her colleagues broke away from NAWSA in dissent over strategy and tactics.
Consent and Alcohol
- The Missing Key to Fighting Sexual Assault on CampusThis article is a good primer in the current debate surrounding alcohol and consent in laws and university policies.
- The Steubenville Rape Case - Rape Case Unfolds on Web and Splits CityThis article records the events surrounding a sexual assault in Steubenville, OH. Two high school boys assaulted a high school girl who was incapacitated by alcohol. The article does a good job of showing sexual assault in context: the reactions of the police, townspeople, assailants, survivor and her family. NOTE: SOME GRAPHIC MATERIAL
Who Are You? (Note: some graphic material)
This video a group of actors show the possible events leading up to an alcohol-facilitated sexual assault. The video also points at the different moments in the evening when I bystander could have prevented the assault.
A Response to the "Undetected" Rapist (Trigger Warning)
MAIN LIBRARY MEDIA COLLECTION Video Record 46647 DVD (Ask for this item at the Service Desk)
There was previously a version of this available through YouTube, but it was taken down because of copyright violations.
Sexual Assault and Gender
Sexual Assault in the Transgender Community
According to recent statistics, one in two transgender individuals will be sexually assaulted at some point in their lives, making them one of the communities most vulnerable to sexual assault in the country. That vulnerability and the misconceptions many people have about transgender people means that trans survivors often do not get the support that they need. This website is a good primer on transgender issues and how to best support a transgender survivors.
- Rape and the Gatekeeper NarrativeThis article in the Harvard Crimson does a good job how the gatekeeper myth (that men always want sex and women are the one that decide whether or not they have it) leads to unhealthy attitudes about sex and sexual assault.
- Miss RepresentationThis is a documentary that explores how women are affected by the rhetorical portrayals of female characters and figures in the media and popular culture. It addresses these issues in relation to sexual assault, eating disorders, pay inequity and other issues.
How Movies Teach Manhood
This TEDTalk by Colin Stokes (embedded below) discusses the stories marketed to boys and girls, and how those stories affect the way we envision our lives and perceive the world. He argues that exposing children to different stories is an important part of educating children and can help shape their later behavior for the better.
- Men Can Stop RapeWebsite of an organization that seeking a new response to sexual violence. The creators of Men Can Stop Rape realized that while most sexual violence is perpetrated by men, most prevention efforts are targeted at women. Men Can Stop Rape tries to share some of the burden of violence prevention, while also teaching men that being manly doesn't mean being violent.
The Everyday Sexism Project
Creator Lauren Bates discusses how she came to form the Everyday Sexism Project in response to the casual sexism (including assaults) that has become "normal" in British and American culture. She also discusses the backlash she experienced when she tried to bring this sexism to the attention of others and the strength she found in sharing her stories and the stories of other women. The Everyday Sexism Project is a source of solidarity and a way for people to share their strategies for combating sexism.
What is Rape Culture?
- What is Rape CultureThis is a smart and well written primer on what rape culture is and how it functions in our communities.
- Rape Culture Is a Contract We Never Actually SignedThis blog post discusses the ways that rape culture keeps people from having healthy, happy sex lives even when they don't experience rape or sexual assault.