rape culture

It’s completely normal to be a woman and enjoy sex. The trouble is that when I’ve expressed my sexuality openly online, I’ve encountered some unwanted attention from men. Image: Bruno Gomiero/Unsplash.

Facebook Is Not An Online Dating Site

It's completely normal to be a woman and enjoy sex. The trouble is that when I’ve expressed my sexuality openly online, I’ve encountered some unwanted attention from men.

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It is my hope that we eradicate these condescending phrases and develop a better system to help survivors. Image: Thinkstock.

4 Things You Should Never Say To A Sexual Assault Survivor

Survivors need support, but often, when they reach out, they are met with responses that only cause further trauma. The impact of these responses is immense.

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It’s time we get our facts straight. Image: Thinkstock.

8 Myths About Sexual Assault That Everyone Needs To Ditch

April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. Unfortunately, you probably know someone who has been sexually assaulted. 1 out of 6 American women are survivors of attempted or completed rape. It’s not just women: 1 out of 33 men are survivors as well.

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Laura Bates: Author Of Everyday Sexism, Full-Time Fighter Of The Good Fight

After receiving more than 100,000 accounts from women and girls around the world, Laura has compiled the stories and lessons from Everyday Sexism into a book named after the project.

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I keep going, one foot defiantly placed in front of the other. Image: Adrian Williams.

Dear Street Harasser: Here Are 6 Reasons I Refuse To Smile

There are so many reasons why I and countless other women walking down countless sidewalks aren’t smiling. Our rights are still being violated, still being stripped from us, and still being fed to presidential candidates as topics for the latest debate. We’re against fighting gender inequality, sexism, racism, homo- and transphobia, income inequality, gender stereotypes, domestic abuse, and the constant threat of rape.

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I don’t even know what he looked like. I was so focused on not making eye contact that I didn’t get a good look at him.

The Internal Monologue Of A Woman Being Groped At A Concert

No matter how drunk he is, he can’t NOT notice this. His hand is moving. What do I do? What do I do? Do I politely ask him to stop? Do I yell at him? Do I wheel around and whack him in the face? You don’t know what he’s doing, Jody. Calm down. Don’t make a scene.

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Victim-blaming is never OK — yet it’s a very serious, very real, very prevalent problem.

To The Therapist Who Thought It Was OK To Victim-Blame

As an adult, I’ve experienced more trauma than I ever knew possible. Between multiple sexual assaults, the unexpected death of my first child, the highly traumatic birth of my second child and his subsequent months spent in the NICU, I am often surprised that I am still standing.

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I knew this feeling of helplessness and hopelessness and loneliness wouldn’t go away. And it didn’t. And yet, I hoped. With all that I had, I hoped.

No One Believed Me: On Being An Imperfect Victim In A World Of Perfect Abusers

I was questioned about my sexual past — a past filled with consensual partners and an affinity for whiskey — and quickly deemed to be an imperfect victim, a deviant who was sexually active far too often and for far too long to ever conceivably tell a man no.

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