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In 1991, Anita Hill's testimony during Clarence Thomas's Senate confirmation hearing brought the problem of sexual harassment to a public audience. Although widely believed by women, Hill was defamed by conservatives and Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court. The tainting of Hill and her testimony is part of a larger social history in which women find themselves caught up in a system that refuses to believe what they say. Hill's experience shows how a tainted witness is not who someone is, but what someone can become. Why are women so often considered unreliable witnesses to their own experiences? How are women discredited in legal courts and in courts of public opinion? Why is women's testimony so often mired in controversies fueled by histories of slavery and colonialism? How do new feminist witnesses enter testimonial networks and disrupt doubt?Tainted Witnessexamines how gender, race, and doubt stick to women witnesses as their testimony circulates in search of an adequate witness. Judgment falls unequally upon women who bear witness, as well-known conflicts about testimonial authority in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries reveal. Women's testimonial accounts demonstrate both the symbolic potency of women's bodies and speech in the public sphere and the relative lack of institutional security and control to which they can lay claim. Each testimonial act follows in the wake of a long and invidious association of race and gender with lying that can be found to this day within legal courts and everyday practices of judgment, defining these locations as willfully unknowing and hostile to complex accounts of harm. Bringing together feminist, literary, and legal frameworks, Leigh Gilmore provides provocative readings of what happens when women's testimony is discredited. She demonstrates how testimony crosses jurisdictions, publics, and the unsteady line between truth and fiction in search of justice.

This book is set against the background of the 'justice gap' in sexual assault cases - the dramatic gap between the number of offences recorded by the police and the number of convictions. It seeks to examine the attitudinal problems which bedevil this area of law and possible strategies for addressing them. Written by a professor of law and a professor of psychology, it reviews evidence from socio-legal and social cognition research and presents new data drawn both from interviews with judges and barristers and from studies with prospective lawyers and members of the public. In the final part, it considers different ways in which rape trials could be improved and suggests steps that could be taken to change public attitudes about sexual assault.

Where do lessons of \"stranger danger\" and safety come from—and do they apply differently for women? A gender-fear paradox shows that although women are less likely to be victims of most crimes (sexual assault aside), their fear of crime is greater. Moreover, girls and women—especially White women—are taught to fear the wrong things and given impossible tools to prevent victimization. In Teaching Fear, Nicole Rader zooms in on the social learning process, tracing the ways that families, schools, and the media have become obsessed with crime myths, especially regarding girls and women. Based on in-depth research and family studies, Rader reveals the dubious and dangerous origins of many of the most prominent safety guidelines that teach young girls to be more afraid of crime. These guidelines carry over to adulthood, influencing women's behaviors and the way they order their worlds, with dangerous consequences. As women teach their learned behavior and conditioned fear to others, gendered crime myths are recirculated from generation to generation, making them a staple in our society. Teaching Fear includes suggestions for taking precautionary measures and crime prevention strategies. Rader also provides guidance for instilling safety values and demonstrating how we can \"teach fear better\" to break this cycle and truly create greater security.

Background Gender-based violence (GBV) primary prevention programs seek to facilitate change by addressing the underlying causes and drivers of violence against women and girls at a population level. Social norms are contextually and socially derived collective expectations of appropriate behaviors. Harmful social norms that sustain GBV include women’s sexual purity, protecting family honor over women’s safety, and men’s authority to discipline women and children. To evaluate the impact of GBV prevention programs, our team sought to develop a brief, valid, and reliable measure to examine change over time in harmful social norms and personal beliefs that maintain and tolerate sexual violence and other forms of GBV against women and girls in low resource and complex humanitarian settings. Methods The development and testing of the scale was conducted in two phases: 1) formative phase of qualitative inquiry to identify social norms and personal beliefs that sustain and justify GBV perpetration against women and girls; and 2) testing phase using quantitative methods to conduct a psychometric evaluation of the new scale in targeted areas of Somalia and South Sudan. Results The Social Norms and Beliefs about GBV Scale was administered to 602 randomly selected men ( N  = 301) and women (N = 301) community members age 15 years and older across Mogadishu, Somalia and Yei and Warrup, South Sudan. The psychometric properties of the 30-item scale are strong. Each of the three subscales, “Response to Sexual Violence,” “Protecting Family Honor,” and “Husband’s Right to Use Violence” within the two domains, personal beliefs and injunctive social norms, illustrate good factor structure, acceptable internal consistency, reliability, and are supported by the significance of the hypothesized group differences. Conclusions We encourage and recommend that researchers and practitioners apply the Social Norms and Beliefs about GBV Scale in different humanitarian and global LMIC settings and collect parallel data on a range of GBV outcomes. This will allow us to further validate the scale by triangulating its findings with GBV experiences and perpetration and assess its generalizability across diverse settings.

Background Reproductive coercion and abuse (RCA) is a hidden form of violence against women, involving controlling behaviours by a partner or family member to manipulate a woman’s reproductive autonomy, either to prevent or promote pregnancy. It correlates with partner violence, unintended pregnancy, contraceptive non-adherence, and poor sexual and reproductive health. However, research often oversimplifies RCA, treating it as a uniform phenomenon and neglecting its diverse manifestations. Additionally, there is scarce evidence on RCA in low- and middle-income countries. This study examines the conceptualisation and discourse surrounding reproductive coercion among health workers and women victims/survivors in Brazil, Nepal, occupied Palestinian Territories, and Sri Lanka. The main objectives include: 1) Investigating acts of reproductive coercion reported by women and health workers. 2) Exploring how health workers approach reproductive coercion in their practice. 3) Understanding the structural, institutional, and social barriers affecting victim/survivors encounters with reproductive coercion. Methods We conducted 62 qualitative interviews with health workers and domestic violence victims/survivors across the four countries, plus three focus groups with women in Nepal. Data were analysed thematically. Results The findings reveal that reproductive coercion emerged as a form of domestic violence across all settings studied. Reported acts of coercion and violence by both women and health workers included attempts to force pregnancy against a woman's wishes and to hinder contraceptive use, driven by jealousy or the desire to promote pregnancy. Perpetrators, mainly husbands and family members (particularly in-laws in Nepal and Sri Lanka), employed various coercive behaviours such as pressure, decision-making control, threats (e.g., leaving the partner or violence), verbal harassment, and physical violence. The analysis also underscored broader structural and social challenges constraining women's reproductive choices and health workers' responses, encompassing religious beliefs surrounding contraception and abortion, cultural norms regarding son preference (notably in Nepal), and restrictive health policies concerning abortion and spousal consent for family planning (observed in Nepal and Sri Lanka). Conclusions The study emphasises the necessity for further research to comprehensively understand acts of reproductive coercion and abuse and guide health workers in effectively addressing this issue. Plain English summary Reproductive coercion and abuse (RCA) is a hidden form of violence where someone controls a woman’s choices about having children, either by forcing her to become pregnant or preventing her from doing so. This can have serious consequences, like unintended pregnancies and poor reproductive health. However, RCA is often misunderstood and oversimplified in research, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the issue has not been studied enough. This study looks at how RCA is understood by health workers and women in four countries: Brazil, Nepal, occupied Palestinian Territories (oPT), and Sri Lanka. The study aims to identify the types of reproductive coercion experienced by women, understand how health workers deal with it, and explore the cultural, social, and structural barriers that make RCA difficult to address. Researchers conducted interviews with 62 health workers and victims/survivors of domestic violence and held group discussions with women in Nepal. The findings show that RCA is a form of domestic violence, with women being pressured by partners and family members, especially in-laws, to either become pregnant or stop using contraception. Women in Brazil reported facing pressure (sometimes described during clinical encounters) not to seek abortions. Cultural beliefs like a preference for sons, religious views on contraception, and strict health policies added to the difficulties women face in controlling their reproductive choices. The study concludes that RCA is a complex issue shaped by cultural, religious, and social factors. It calls for more research to help health workers better understand and address reproductive coercion, especially in LMICs.

Intimate partner violence against women remains a widespread public health problem in European countries and seriously undermines women's physical, mental and social well-being. According to a recent report by the World Health Organization,1 the lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence among women who have had an intimate partner in high-income countries of western Europe is 19.3%, whereas in central and eastern Europe it is around 27%. The prevalence of intimate partner violence against women is 30% globally and about 23% in high-income countries. In summary, academics and policy-makers face many challenges in their efforts to reduce intimate partner violence against women. Investing in public education and awareness initiatives is critically important, as is ensuring that these initiatives are well informed, appropriately targeted and properly designed. Finally, constant monitoring will be needed to assess the effectiveness of efforts to change public attitudes that further victimize the women who are victims of intimate partner violence.

Background Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment (SVSH) on college campuses disproportionately affect racially minoritized groups, including Asian female students. These individuals face unique cultural and familial challenges impacting their experiences and help-seeking behaviors. Existing literature highlights barriers such as cultural stigma and the model minority myth, but research specific to this population is limited. Objectives This study explores the SVSH experiences of Asian female college students and examines how cultural norms, family dynamics, and immigration background influence their responses and access to support services. Methods Data were collected from all 10 University of California campuses as part of the Double Jeopardy (DJ) project. Fifty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted. A grounded-theory-guided thematic analysis identified key themes, with reflective memos used to capture insights and minimize bias. Results Findings reveal that cultural norms and family expectations shape Asian female students’ responses to SVSH, often reinforcing self-blame and silence of the incidents. Immigration background added complexities, with fears related to legal status and unfamiliarity with SVSH frameworks and existing support services in the United States (U.S.). Mental health stigma and language barriers further contributed to isolation and reluctance to seek help. Despite challenges, participants expressed the need for culturally competent, linguistically appropriate resources. Conclusions Universities must adopt culturally competent policies, expand multilingual counseling services, and collaborate with community-based organizations to support Asian female survivors. Addressing systemic barriers can foster an inclusive environment that empowers survivors and enhances access to necessary resources.

•A new viewpoint about victimization by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault.•Difficulties faced by women suffering from opportunistic DFSA in leisure contexts.•Sexual interaction mediated by drugs and the intersectional nature of DFSA.•The perpetuation of opportunistic DFSA and the spiral of cyclical re-victimization.•Achieve the 2030 Agenda’s global challenge of “no one will be left behind”. The victimization of women by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault in leisure contexts was studied in this work by applying a novel approximation. A multifocal analytical strategy based on an intersectional gender-sensitive approach was used to analyse the evidence coming from both forensic case studies and contextual studies about sexual interrelation and drug use. The process of victimization comprises social changes affecting consumption patterns and sexual interaction, intersecting in the hegemonic recreational nightlife model. However, victims experience a range of situations that make it difficult for them to self-acknowledge themselves as such. Widespread myths about the victimization process add to the social questioning faced by victims, stemming from gender-based double standards which condition the expected female behaviors regarding the use of drugs and sexual interaction. The victims usually experience amnesia, lack of injuries and emotional harm, which make difficult the self-acknowledgement as a victim of sexual assault and the reporting of the episode suffered. Consequently, it is an urgent public health need to implement a new viewpoint about the victimization of women by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault in leisure contexts, able to increase awareness of the severity of this form of sexual violence. Society must recognize the existence of this problem within itself to help victims to acknowledge themselves as such, lodge a complaint and seek adequate help. The lack of this social support feeds the perpetuation of the victimization process, which exacerbates the risk of locking victims into spirals of cyclical re-victimization and favors both the underreporting as well as inadequate coping strategies. In addition to focusing on the need to increase awareness of the severity of female victimization by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault in leisure contexts, other recommendations include the use of the term “take advantage”, the development of specific criminal approaches, and the in-depth knowledge of the phenomenon via victimization surveys. These steps are necessary for developing well-targeted and evidence-based preventive measures consistent-with-reality.

Screening #MeToo offers an important and timely discussion of the pervasive nature of rape culture in Hollywood. Essays in the collection examine films released from the 1960s onward, a broad period that coincides with the end of the Motion Picture Production Code in Hollywood, which resulted in more frequent and increasingly graphic images of sex and violence being included in mainstream movies. Focusing on narratives in which surveillance and sexual violence feature prominently, contributors from North America and Europe examine a variety of film genres, including spy films, teen comedies, kitchen sink dramas, coming-of-age stories, rape/revenge films, and horror films. Reflecting the increasing social and academic awareness of sexual violence in Hollywood film and its transmission and cultivation of rape culture in the United States and abroad, they are concerned not only with the content of the films under scrutiny but also with the clear relationship between the stories, how they are being told, and the culture that produced them. Screening #MeToo challenges readers to look at mainstream Hollywood films differently, in light of attitudes about art and power, sexuality and consent, and the pleasures and frustrations of criticizing \"entertainment\" films from these perspectives.

Executive Summary Over the past decade, there has been a sharp increase in the number of women and girls arriving at the U.S. Southwest border from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. In order to design and implement effective strategies to address female immigrants’ needs, it is imperative to fully understand the drivers of girls’ and women’s migration. Prior research has found that the migration calculus of Northern Central American women is often driven by fear of crime and crime victimization. We delve more deeply into the effect of personal safety concerns on women’s decision to migrate by focusing on the role that gender-based violence (GBV) plays in the migration calculus among women from Northern Central America, where GBV is particularly pervasive. GBV is distinct from other types of victimization as it frequently occurs in both public and private spheres, and is often dismissed as a private affair by state agents who either refuse to investigate it or, worse, are actively complicit in its perpetuation. Relying upon statistical analysis of survey data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP Lab), we find that women who report that violence against women is a serious problem in their neighborhoods are significantly more likely to plan to migrate, independent of their experiences and perceptions of other types of crime. When women perceive that violence against women in their neighborhoods is very serious, they become just as likely as men to plan to migrate. In contrast, perceptions of GBV do not shape men’s migration calculus, even though men and women share similar views on the severity of the problem of violence against women in their neighborhoods. Our findings indicate that there is a distinct set of factors driving women to migrate from Northern Central America. Thus, policies designed to address the “root causes” of forced migration must take into account these gendered differences in the migration decision. From our research, we derive policy implications for domestic and foreign governments to protect women from GBV and turn migration into a choice rather than the only perceived way out of violence. First, given the persistently high rates of GBV, a larger budget allocation to address GBV should be part of governments’ citizen security plans. Second, such funds should be directed to strengthen the capacity of specialized institutions (i.e., women’s shelters, specialized police stations, and tribunals), as well as to evidence-based media and education campaigns focused on generating attitudinal change. Funds should be dedicated to raise public awareness about the problem of GBV, and socialize citizens to recognize it as a crime, not a private family matter. Third, since women and sexually diverse populations are more at risk of sexual violence at the hands of armed state actors in the context of militarized responses to organized crime, a shift in security policy rooted in human rights rather than excessive use of force is imperative. Finally, as the second Trump administration focuses on indiscriminate deportation, risking individuals’ safety in general and women’s exposure to GBV in particular, we urge international organizations and human rights advocates to engage in coordinated efforts to demand U.S. adherence to core tenets of international law such as non-refoulement and uphold the fundamental rights to migration and asylum. We conclude with a call to foreign governments to collaborate with civil society actors to protect women from GBV in the region.