essentials


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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE STANFORD SURVIVOR

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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE STANFORD SURVIVOR

While the video of Brock walking out of jail goes viral, and people of all backgrounds and beliefs comment on the unspeakable truth of his new-found freedom, we can't help but think about you. What you experienced, and the ensuing case that followed, fuel the fire of our commitment to support and protect survivors of sexual violence in any way possible. We are so deeply grateful for your courage, your strength, and your willingness to speak your Truth to a world where many don't understand, and won't understand, the horror of rape, the depravity of victim-blaming and the destructive, dangerous culture of rape that pervades our society. You are strong, you are heroic, and your voice is transforming the landscape of justice.

We believe (in) you.

In solidarity,

Taylor Jarman and Taylor Rippy Monson

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AFTER/SHOCK

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AFTER/SHOCK

"This story is about my personal journey with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

On June 5, 2014 I was manipulated, threatened, held against my will and sexually assaulted by a renowned Nepali photojournalist in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

He was doing everything that he could to rape me that night, and I will never forget when he said: 'If you don’t have sex with me, I will destroy your career.'

This event sent me spiraling downwards; everything associated with photojournalism triggered me for months on end, and it nearly caused me to give up photography altogether.

The following pictures document my experience over the past two years, coping with my trauma and now attempting to move beyond it."

—Photojournalist, Anica James

SEE THE FULL "AFTER/SHOCK" PROJECT HERE

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"I WAS NEVER RAPED, BUT..."

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"I WAS NEVER RAPED, BUT..."

"Rape culture systematically shrinks your world. Through movies and music videos and friendships and strangers, you learn that your comfort and safety simply comes second. If at all. I learned all of this, and I was never raped."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

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PHOTOGRAPHER DOCUMENTS WHAT STUDENTS WORE WHEN THEY WERE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED

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PHOTOGRAPHER DOCUMENTS WHAT STUDENTS WORE WHEN THEY WERE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED

"By now, the offensive question has become so familiar it’s basically routine.

A woman is sexually assaulted; her agency, body, and selfhood violated. Yet, time and time again, the response to such an obtrusive act of physical or psychological violence often uttered by friends, family, university administrators or others who should know better, is: 'Well, what were you wearing?'

For her thesis project at Arcadia University, photography major Katherine Cambareri decided to challenge the ease with which people resort to victim blaming."

SEE THE PHOTOGRAPHS HERE

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SIX THINGS TO STOP TELLING SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS

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SIX THINGS TO STOP TELLING SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS

"Sexual assault is disturbingly common in the United States. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), about 15 percent of women are raped during their lifetimes. Studies have found that one in every three to five women is sexually assaulted during college, depending on the study and how it defines sexual assault. For gender-nonconforming people, it's even worse, with 39.1 percent of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, questioning, or non-conforming) people experiencing sexual misconduct during college, according to one Association of American Universities study. Men aren't exempt either, with 8.6 percent experiencing sexual misconduct during college and three percent experiencing completed or attempted rape at some point, according to RAINN. Due to the stigmatization and blaming of sexual assault victims, these crimes usually go unreported. RAINN estimates that only 32 percent are reported to police.

Victims shouldn't have to live with shame that should actually belong to their perpetrators. Here are some things we need to stop saying to them in order to avoid perpetuating the stigma."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

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SEX AFTER RAPE

"Even though I married an incredibly kind and supportive man, I still spent many years crying after sex. If I enjoyed it then I felt 'dirty' and mentally told myself I was a slut. If I dissociated (as I did most of the time), I wasn’t mentally present. This would then make me feel used and broken. I didn't understand how something that was supposed to be so wonderful, and my body naturally wanted, caused me so much pain."

READ 'SEX AFTER RAPE' BY HAILEY ALLEN HERE

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A RECOVERY GUIDE FOR SURVIVORS

"Rape and sexual assault are traumatic experiences that may interrupt your life at home, at work, and at school, affecting your relationships with friends, family, and coworkers. This guide can help you to begin sorting out your emotions and concerns and to understand the facts surrounding sexual assault. You have survived, and now you can begin to recover. Although this process is often slow and confusing, with understanding and persistence you can accomplish a great deal. You have control over how you recover."

After Sexual Assault: A Recovery Guide for Survivors, by Safe Horizon

VIEW THE FULL GUIDE HERE

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HONEY COFOUNDER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CYBER MISOGYNY

Following Alan Rickman’s recent passing, Emma Watson posted a series of photos on her Twitter feed in remembrance of him. Each came with a quote that originated from Alan, Emma’s co-star in the Harry Potter films. One of these images in particular struck a cord among an angry Twitter crowd. The image of Rickman says: “There is nothing wrong with a man being a feminist, I think it is to our mutual advantage.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

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THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

"Now, I've been talking so far about fight-or-flight. It's actually fight, flight, or freeze — that for some victims, they don't fight back. They don't flee the situation. Their body freezes on them because of this hormonal activation by the HPA axis. And it can trigger essentially an entire shutdown in the body. And the technical name for this is tonic immobility. Tonic immobility is often referred to as 'rape-induced paralysis.'

It is an autonomic response, meaning that it's uncontrollable. This is not something a victim decides to do. It is a mammalian response. It is evolutionarily wired into us to protect the survival of the organism. Because sometimes the safest thing to do to protect the safety is to fight back. Sometimes the safest thing to do is to flee. Sometimes the stupidest thing to do is to flee because it will incite chase. Therefore, our bodies have been wired for a freeze response too — to play dead, to look dead, because that may be the safest thing for the survival of the organism. So it is a mammalian response that is in all of us — we can't control it. And it happens in extremely fearful situations."

WATCH/LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE PRESENTATION HERE

READ THE ENTIRE PRESENTATION HERE

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WHY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS DON'T LEAVE

"I was 22. I had just graduated from Harvard College. I had moved to New York City for my first job as a writer and editor at Seventeen magazine. I had my first apartment, my first little green American Express card, and I had a very big secret. My secret was that I had this gun loaded with hollow-point bullets pointed at my head by the man who I thought was my soulmate, many, many times. The man who I loved more than anybody on Earth held a gun to my head and threatened to kill me more times than I can even remember. I'm here to tell you the story of crazy love, a psychological trap disguised as love, one that millions of women and even a few men fall into every year. It may even be your story."

WATCH LESLIE MORGAN STEINER'S TALK HERE

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A CALL TO MEN

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A CALL TO MEN

"Now Kendall on the other hand—and like I said, he's only 15 months older than her—he'd come to me crying, it's like as soon as I would hear him cry, a clock would go off. I would give the boy probably about 30 seconds, which means, by the time he got to me, I was already saying things like, 'Why are you crying? Hold your head up. Look at me. Explain to me what's wrong. Tell me what's wrong. I can't understand you. Why are you crying?' And out of my own frustration of my role and responsibility of building him up as a man to fit into these guidelines and these structures that are defining this man box, I would find myself saying things like, 'Just go in your room. Just go on, go on in your room. Sit down, get yourself together and come back and talk to me when you can talk to me like a —' what? Like a man. And he's five years old. And as I grow in life, I would say to myself, 'My God, what's wrong with me? What am I doing? Why would I do this?' And I think back. I think back to my father."

WATCH TONY PORTER'S TALK HERE

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WHY DO SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT FEEL SHAME?

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WHY DO SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT FEEL SHAME?

"Almost every survivor of sexual assault or abuse will at one point think, 'It was my fault.' What many of us don't know is WHY survivors feel shame and guilt or why others around them might blame them instead of the perpetrator. The following cartoon breaks down the reasons why. To all the survivors out there who are blaming themselves for what happened, here's the psychology behind why you might feel so guilty. I'm crossing my fingers that at least a couple of you will read this and finally feel some solace. And for anyone who has ever asked, 'Why didn't she run away?' or 'Why didn't he scream?' — this one's for you, too."

SEE THE CARTOON HERE

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WHAT NOT TO SAY TO A SURVIVOR

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WHAT NOT TO SAY TO A SURVIVOR

"Unfortunately, victim blaming is still a frequent occurrence when the topic of sexual assault arises. Further, many survivors wrongly believe that they were responsible for the trauma that they endured. Media coverage and comments that place blame upon the survivor, only serve to perpetuate the shame and guilt that they may already be experiencing."

READ THE 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY TO A SURVIVOR HERE

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LADY GAGA'S TIL IT HAPPENS TO YOU

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LADY GAGA'S TIL IT HAPPENS TO YOU

To learn more about The Hunting Ground, and to check for screenings in your area, click here.

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"SON, MEN DON'T GET RAPED"

Sexual assault is alarmingly common in the U.S. military, and more than half of the victims are men. According to the Pentagon, thirty-eight military men are sexually assaulted every single day. These are the stories you never hear—because the culprits almost always go free, the survivors rarely speak, and no one in the military or Congress has done enough to stop it.

"At first I thought he was playing around. He managed to wrestle me onto my back, and I started freaking out. He pinned my arm above my head and my knee in the crook of his arm and covered my mouth with his right hand and looked at me and said, 'You will not make a noise.'"

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

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WHY I STOPPED WATCHING PORN

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WHY I STOPPED WATCHING PORN

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WHEN COLLEGES THREATEN TO PUNISH STUDENTS WHO REPORT SEXUAL VIOLENCE

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WHEN COLLEGES THREATEN TO PUNISH STUDENTS WHO REPORT SEXUAL VIOLENCE

"Colleges issue no-contact orders as a tool to protect victims from their alleged assailants, and apply confidentiality rules to prevent students from airing the school’s dirty laundry. Several students told HuffPost they were threatened with possible suspension if they violated what they consider to be gag orders.

Indeed, in a number of cases, colleges issued veiled threats of punishment to survivors of reported sexual assaults, often telling them to keep their cases hush-hush in phrasing that some experts believe may violate federal law."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

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WHAT SURVIVING SEXUAL ASSAULT HAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT MASCULINITY

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WHAT SURVIVING SEXUAL ASSAULT HAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT MASCULINITY

"I know that the world still has this ridiculous idea of masculinity. An idea that harms all of us, from the men it pressures and coerces to the partners and friends who suffer with its results. It’s an idea of power that no doubt informed my attackers and pushed me away from the support I could have received earlier. The lesson, not that there needs to be one, is that silence is never powerful. Talking, softly, often is."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

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LET'S TALK ABOUT CONSENT...

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LET'S TALK ABOUT CONSENT...

Written, produced, and directed by NYU students and alumni, this video reflects 18 hours of interviews with students and recent grads at NYU and across New York City who shared what consent means to them, and the importance of starting a brave conversation on campus.

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