I was about sixteen the first time one of my friends told me she had been raped. Since then I’ve gone through hundreds of hours of training, become a crisis counselor, educated myself on rape and society, and written articles, stories, and a novel about the subject. None of it changes the feelings of anger and helplessness, the same things I felt that night all those years ago.
I’m posting these articles and links in the hope that they’ll make some small difference. If you know of other resources I should add, please let me know.
Columns – From 2004 to 2005, I wrote for the State News, the college newspaper at Michigan State University.
- Bad Guys Among us Difficult to Identify – examining stereotypes about abusers and batterers. Published 7/8/04.
- Reprinted in Voice Male. Winter, 2005.
- Sex Crimes Can’t be Blamed on Victims – about an Orange County gang rape trial. Published 7/27/04.
- Sexual Assault More Common Earlier in Semester. Published 8/30/04.
- Be Sure – examining consent and a statement by Kobe Bryant. Published 9/14/04.
- False Reports. Published 10/4/04.
- Why Doesn’t She Leave? Published 11/4/04.
- MSU Needs to Reexamine Attitudes Toward Sex. Published 12/6/04.
- End to Rape Lies Within Prevention, not Self-Defense. Published 1/24/05.
- State Sex Offender Database Can Be Useful. Published 2/15/05.
Blog posts – These days, I’ve switched from newspaper to blogging. Here are some of the rape-related posts I’ve written over the past few years. You can also use the rape tag to read recent rape-related posts.
- Thoughts on Men and Rape. The huge problems with treating rape as a “women’s issue.” 4/21/08.
- Sleeping Beauties. Because asleep does not equal consent, dammit! 4/1/09.
- Writing About Rape. Because so many published authors write about rape, and do it so badly. 4/7/09.
- Significant Others. How rape affects both the survivor and those around them, and what I’ve learned from being in the S.O. role. 4/22/09.
- Victim Blaming. Responding to an incident in which the Stamford Marriott blamed a rape victim for her own attack, claiming she “failed to exercise due care for her own safety and the safety of her children and proper use of her senses and facilities.” 8/14/09.
- Rape in Fandom. Discussing rape at conventions and other SF/F circles, and the need to speak out. 2/26/10.
Other Resources:
- Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN) – National rape hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
- Sexual Victimization of College Women – A study from the U.S. Dept. of Justice. I referred to this one a lot when working at Michigan State.
- The Rape of Mr. Smith – Highlighting some of the ways rape trials often turn into attacks on the victim.
- If Someone You Love was Raped – Advice from RAINN on how to help.
- “Meet the Predators” – From the Yes Means Yes blog, an article looking at research on men who rape. Dispels several rape myths and provides important insight into rape and other violence against women.