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The facts on rape culture

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Sexual Misconduct | Southern Connecticut State University

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Southern Connecticut State University is concerned about the safety of all University community members. Sexual harassment and sexual violence (sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual exploitation) are not acceptable behaviors in our community and are violations of the law, University policies and Student Code of Conduct.

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Vox's home for compelling, provocative narrative essays.

Eight years into our marriage, sitting in a therapist's office with my husband, I mustered all my courage and said my deepest, darkest truth: "When we have sex, I feel like I'm being violated." The unwanted sex at times made me sick: Once I had to run straight from bed to the bathroom, where I retched into the toilet. I spared him and the therapist that detail.

My husband shrugged and, staring ahead with more indifference than disdain, replied, "She's always so melodramatic." His response didn't surprise me. It was his standard reaction to my complaints about the sad state of our marriage, his way of training me to see my needs - emotional connection and communication - as excessive, and his (primarily sex) as entirely reasonable.

I had dragged us to couples counseling because I could no longer live in the vacuum left behind after the emotional intimacy had seeped out of our marriage. My husband hadn't noticed the loss, proclaiming himself happy. At home, having tried without success the therapist-prescribed exercises for restoring emotional connection - check-ins about feelings, "nonsexual" touch - my husband lobbied for his own solution: "The thing you need is really complicated and difficult, and it's not something I can do. But the thing I need is easy and quick. Why can't you just give me the thing I need?"

I acquiesced. At the time, it didn't feel like a choice; it felt inevitable. I lived every evening dreading the signals of my husband's desire. I bargained my way out of sex as often as I could. I gloried in being sick enough to have the right to refuse.

On the nights when I couldn't get out of it, we used a method that I had taught myself to tolerate and that he, astoundingly, tolerated as well: I read a book to distract myself for as long as I could while he did the thing he needed to do. I did not let him kiss me for the last several years of our marriage. That was the rule: You can fuck me, but you can't kiss me, and I don't have to pretend to like it. This satisfied him.

Submitting to sex with a man who knew it was unwanted, who knew I felt deep pain at our lack of emotional connection, and who knew - who had been clearly told - that it felt like a violation, broke something in me. Knowing that he could still enjoy and feel emotionally fulfilled by that unwanted sex shattered my idea of our marriage. I felt like a sex doll. I felt unselfed.

But I blamed myself. I was the one whose desire was "deficient," according to my husband and our sex-obsessed culture. When multiple couples therapists over several years made no significant impact, I blamed myself again: I should have been more forceful when I said my dark truth.

Only 15 years later, as I witness so much outrage on the behalf of women who have been shamed, coerced, and bullied into sex in so many other contexts, do I wonder: How could my husband listen to me say what I said - even once, even timidly - and sleep well that night, much less continue to insist on sleeping with me?

Our culture condones sexual misconduct in marriage

Reactions to my marital experience will likely depend on the reader's age - which reflects the enormous evolution that the legal and social definitions of appropriate sexual behavior have undergone over the past 50 years. Marital rape was legal everywhere in the US until the mid-1970s and was not outlawed in all 50 states until the 1990s. Even today, it is not prosecuted as harshly as rape outside marriage.

These facts tell me that I matured from child to college graduate in a country where men "owned" their wives so completely that they could commit sexual violence on them with legal impunity. In that context, my acquiescence begins to make sense - even though my educational and professional background ensured I knew, intellectually, I was entitled to refuse sex.

I am a humanities professor who teaches feminist theory, models feminist behavior for my students and my own children, and has achieved success in a male-dominated field. Last year, my teenage son and I chanted in support of women's reproductive rights at the Women's March in Washington. And yet for years I submitted to unwanted sex from my husband, leaving me sexually traumatized long after I ended that marriage. All the feminist texts I had read could not drown out what I had absorbed from society and popular culture: that it was my duty to satisfy my husband, regardless of my own feelings.

Countless movies and TV shows - including this year's Best Picture, The Shape of Water - have used the shot of a husband jackhammering away above his blank-faced wife as shorthand for a stale marriage. But nowhere do we ask what it would feel like to be that woman, night after night, or whether the husband's insistence might even be a kind of assault.

In private conversation, nearly every woman with whom I have broached this subject has shared stories - her own, a friend's, or both - about suffering unwanted sex in marriage. And yet despite the #MeToo movement, the heated discussion around the New Yorker's "Cat Person" short story, and the Aziz Ansari debate, the subject of sexual misconduct in marriage has not arisen in our public discourse.

The majority of sexual encounters in America take place in marriage. Half of adults in America are married, and married or cohabiting people have sex twice as often as single people. Do we believe there is no painfully "bad sex," coercion, or sexual assault in marriage? If we do recognize the prevalence of these things, why aren't we talking about it?

Defending yourself against sexual assault in a marriage is uniquely difficult

The questions about what constitutes consent and assault raised by the Babe.net article about Aziz Ansari become only more disturbing in the context of marriage. In the New York Times, opinion writer Bari Weiss wrote of "Grace," who had the disturbing encounter with Ansari, "If you are hanging out naked with a man, it's safe to assume he is going to try to have sex with you." But what if you lie next to that man every night, and prefer to sleep naked? Should he assume your body is perpetually available to him for sex?

Weiss advised, "If he pressures you to do something you don't want to do, use a four-letter word, stand up on your two legs and walk out his door." But what if you know the "pressures" will never stop, and the only way you can escape them is to leave a lifelong relationship? And what if "his door" is also yours?

Leaving a marriage is much harder than calling an Uber.It requires breaking up a family, and deciding that avoiding unwanted sex is worth giving up half the time you would have spent with your kids. It means financial turmoil from which you might never fully recover. If you have kids, it may mean incurring the wrath of the person with whom you will be required to co-parent for decades, and so it also may mean losing his family, whom you love but who will no longer love you because you have hurt their darling boy. How do you assert your agency when its price is the pain of others?

The issue at hand is not about Aziz Ansari, or about any one man. It is about that "emotional setting" Lindy West wrote of in the Times, quoting feminist activist Susan Brownmiller, in which women feel unable or not allowed to resist male sexual overtures. The institution of marriage provides a prefab version of the setting West describes. It gives a man years to accomplish the emotional manipulation that men on dates must squeeze into an evening. How can we consider such a persistent campaign for a woman's compliance anything but assault?

Because marriage is sanctified, by your community if not also by your god; because it is now widely understood as a bond of love, not a social or financial codification; because in it, our expectation for female caretaking and reverence for male sexual desire meet in the gospel of a woman's "sacrifice"; and because of the dangerous myth of postfeminism - we have come to see marriage as a relationship that is not about power, in which women cannot feel sexually violated or dehumanized.

Only when women say otherwise - in public debate, but also to each other, and to their partners, sons, and daughters - will we confront how the institution of marriage can hide damaging behavior that we've begun to question in so many other settings.
This writer has chosen to remain anonymous to protect everyone involved in this article.
First Person is Vox's home for compelling, provocative narrative essays. Do you have a story to share? Read our submission guidelines, and pitch us at firstperson@vox.com.

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My husband pressured me into sex for years. #MeToo must include sexual assault in marriage.

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Vox's home for compelling, provocative narrative essays. Eight years into our marriage, sitting in a therapist's office with my husband, I mustered all my courage and said my deepest, darkest truth: "When we have sex, I feel like I'm being violated."

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Sexual Harassment & Rape Prevention Program (SHARPP)

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Rape culture is defined as stereotyped, false beliefs about rape that justify sexual aggression and trivialize the seriousness of sexual violence. Rape culture has a negative impact on survivors, serving as a silencing function for those who wish to share their narrative.

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Most of us are aware of what victim-blaming is and would never say "She deserved it" on a public forum, but among friends, we might ask, "What was she doing there?" or "How drunk was she?"

Jaquelyn White, emerita professor of psychology and senior research scientist at the Center for Women's Health and Wellness at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, explains why we do this: "It's hard to accept that men we think we know, who seem like nice guys, could do something so horrific as rape, so society tries to come up with excuses." It then becomes easy to blame the victim when "women are already devalued across the board."

Instead of delving into deeply rooted societal issues, it's easier to say, "She was fair game" rather than dethrone the captain of the football team. ("He couldn't have!")
When we don't educate our kids about sex.
When older figures aren't educating us about sex, younger people are seeking answers through Google and finding porn. If we don't have open, healthy discussions with our children about sex and consent, they'll think that pornography - which often promotes violent behavior - is what sex is supposed to be like.

Not all porn is bad, explains Dr. Walter DeKeseredy, director of the Research Center on Violence and professor of sociology at West Virginia University. "[But most] pornography involves one-sided sexuality, in which the man dominates and degrades the woman."
When we pressure boys and men to "be men."
Our culture's obsession with hyper-masculinity is an issue. From a young age, boys are taught to be dominant, and if their masculinity is threatened in any way (say, if someone says "no" to them), they're supposed to get angry.

As Bowman explains, hyper-masculinity also expects that men want sex at all times and have the ability to go out and get it whenever they please.

Too often, male friends pressure one another to "close the deal," and if they come back empty-handed, they're looked down upon, maybe even called a "pussy" or a "bitch."

Furthermore, according to DeKeseredy, research has shown that these types of all-male groups "encourage, justify, and support the abuse of women."
When we teach girls to always be polite and apologize.
In stark contrast to men, women are taught from a young age to apologize for who they are. If they want to present a counterpoint, they're told to start with, "I'm sorry, but I think ..." so as to be polite. Men, on the other hand, are told to put their foot down and take a firm stance. In fact, two studies by the University of Waterloo in Ontario and published in the journal Psychological Science back in 2010 found that while men are just as willing as women to apologize, they had a higher threshold for what they felt they needed to apologize for.

The 15-year-old girl who accused St. Paul's Owen Labrie of rape said in her testimony that she didn't put up a struggle because she wanted to be "as polite as possible." And no, that's not her fault. Society expects women just to take it - or else, we're "teases," "ballbusters," or "bitches."

Clearly, rape culture is a multifaceted issue, but if we become more aware of how we're all contributing to the problem, and change the way we've been trained to think, we're headed in the right direction.
If you're seeking more information about sexual assault and/or rape culture, here are some helpful links:

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12 Ways We All Contribute To Rape Culture Without Realizing It

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Trigger warning: This piece is about sexual violence. Rape culture isn't just about offensive frat chants and the above-the-law pedestal on which we put sports stars (aka jock worship ); rape culture is a deeply ingrained societal issue that combines these obvious problems with more subtle ones, like how women are taught to prevent rape more than men are taught not to rape.

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Witty banter, catch phrases, and prison rape jokes are common rhetoric in our society. So I ask, is the image and joke soap on a rope, a slippery slope? Are we encouraging, condoning and finding sexual violence funny? The roaring laughter that inevitably follows suggests that a tool used to reduce risk of sexual assault while incarcerated is found hysterical. Yet, this kind of humor encourages sexual violence, especially for individuals who are detained for various reasons. Social media, movies, and music sensationalize and draw attention to the issue of prison rape. What is rarely portrayed are the long term effects of sexual assault. Experiencing sexual violence is a devastating event in anyone's life and the effects of sexual violence on inmates is exacerbated by powerlessness, facing their attacker on a daily basis, and limited to no resources or support following the assault.

The perpetuation of prison rape culture further silences survivors of sexual assault, condones violence, and dehumanizes the invisible members of our community, inmates. No person deserves to be sexually assaulted, regardless of their criminal history. Sexual assault should not be a part of their sentence, and flagrant disregard of the issue can easily be viewed as cruel and unusual punishment.

Nearly two million people in the United States are incarcerated at any given time. Twelve million admissions occur each year, and the jail and prison system can often act as a revolving door. Nearly 200,000 incidences of sexual assault are reported each year occurring in the detention facility. The most alarming fact is that this is comparable to the number of women reporting sexual assault each year in the general public. A large majority of inmates are incarcerated for nonviolent crimes, and many have not yet been found guilty of any crime but are incarcerated while awaiting trial.

To truly call ourselves advocates for ending sexual violence we must expand our views and afford services and attention to all victims of sexual assault, as there are no bad victims. No one asks to be sexually assaulted. All humans should have the right and control over their own personal bodies and space. Instead of viewing inmates as social pariahs, see them as your fellow man, parent, sibling, neighbor, or best friend. Legislation has been passed to afford rights and services to these invisible community members. It's known as the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Change your rhetoric, educate yourself, and as you advocate for social issues, whether it be Cecil the lion, racial issues, or issues pertaining to gay rights, remember everyone's rights and safety matter, and as a community we are responsible for the conditions and our attitudes. So yes, soap on a rope, is a slippery slope. The conditions of our communities are a direct reflection of our consciousness.

-Heather is the Volunteer Coordinator at Our VOICE.

I often think about how to promote the positive in my life-eating healthy, getting outside and being active, and building healthy relationships with my family and friends. When you work at a Rape Crisis and Prevention Center you have to be very intentional about making more space for the good things than the bad things. Now don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean ignoring the reality that people I love, people in my community are experiencing sexual violence at alarming rates and that violence has a huge effect on their health.

As a prevention educator and someone who is known for working at Our VOICE, people often ask me: "How can I have (or continue) these conversations with people who are important to me, who are uncomfortable with or don't want to have these conversations, without alienating them?"

I believe the best answer to that question is to promote the positive. Some of my friends and family may not be interested in or comfortable with talking about sexual and intimate partner violence or rape culture. But if I can engage the people in my life by talking about consent and the other elements of healthy relationships, I believe I am still doing my part.

If we want to get folks involved and committed to ending violence in our community and beyond we have to give folks the tools, language, and skills to create the community they desire. We cannot only say NO to what we do not want (i.e., sexual violence, rape culture, racism, transphobia, homophobia) but we have to actively decide upon and seek out what we do want in our lives and communities. Experiences of privilege and oppression play a huge role in how much ability a given person has to set boundaries and have those boundaries respected. However, as individuals we can do our personal best to communicate our own boundaries and respect others'. Modeling that kind of behavior will only help the people around us to feel safe and to reflect on their own boundaries, desires, and relationships.

For example, when I watch television shows with folks like this, I try to point out moments between characters that are consensual or demonstrate healthy communication. To be clear, conflict is a normal part of relationships. And conflict can be both healthy and unhealthy. So when I see healthy communication and conflict on TV or in movies I point it out! I say: "Wow they did such a great job working through such a difficult issue." Or: "That was sexy/awesome/impressive... the way he just asked what they wanted and if they were comfortable!"

When I listen to songs on the radio I try do the same thing. One beautiful example of consent in a song is in Primetime by Janelle Monáe featuring Miguel, who sings, "Bang bang, I'm calling your name. You're like a fire the world can't tame. I wanna riot 'til the stars come out and play. Is that okay?" Is that okay? What a beautiful example of making consent sexy and approachable. Consent and healthy communication are not easy. They both require constant learning and practice (and mistakes! Lots of awkward mistakes).

Although it can be more difficult, pointing out these moments IRL is just as important. (Apologies, I work with middle schoolers. IRL=In Real Life.) If you have a friend struggling to communicate their needs with an intimate partner, offer healthy suggestions, encourage them to feel empowered to set their boundaries. And if they try it out, give them constructive feedback. Say: "You are so brave for communicating your needs. Maybe next time you could be a little clearer about this one part. I'm so glad you feel safe to talk to your partner about this issue."

Preventing sexual violence doesn't have to always sound like "DON'T RAPE." Although, duh. It can also sound like supporting the difficult processes that make up healthy sexual encounters and relationships. And as I've pointed out, media plays a HUGE role in modeling appropriate and acceptable (or unacceptable) behavior. Absolutely, call out sexual violence and rape culture when you see it. But let's also celebrate the moments when our culture doesn't fail us. When the teen show Beauty and The Beast shows a young woman communicating that her and her boyfriend will only have a healthy relationship if she is able to have alone time and time with her friends separate from him. (Not so guilty pleasure, I love YA media.)

And, if you're into sports, celebrate the moments when athletes do the right thing. When they stand up for a cause that you believe in. When UFC Fighter Ronda Rousey tells young women and girls that they can be whatever they want outside of traditional (and often harmful) gender norms. Whatever they dream of being. Empowering individuals to live healthy, whole, authentic lives is just as much a part of dismantling the systems of privilege and oppression as holding perpetrators accountable. And this kind of empowering can feel so much less alienating (if at all) to folks who don't think they are ready to hear about sexual violence and the necessary eradication of it.

-Erin is the Rape Prevention Educator at Our VOICE.

Starting over, letting go, setting goals, resolutions and/or intentions... all very common themes for the month of January. Besides big milestones and life changes or events, January is a great time to create positive change and set measurable goals.

Here at Our VOICE, we certainly acknowledge January 1 st. How each staff member recognizes the new year may look different: taking vacation/self-care, starting of a new fiscal year, approaching due dates, ending of school break, creating new Fitbit challenges, etc.; however, among all of our different personal goals and thoughts going into the new year, we all unite and share at least one intention: Ending sexual violence.

If you have ever set a goal before, then you know the importance of setting attainable goals. Nobody wants to set themselves up for failure. Right now you might be thinking: "Ending sexual violence? That's impossible!" I will be honest, there was a time in my life when I too thought ending sexual assault and rape culture was an unreachable dream, but I am here to tell you it is not.

Wearing seatbelts felt like an impossible cultural shift. How can you change a cultural habit? Is it realistic to mandate whether people are going to wear their seatbelts or not? Well, mandates and laws are only a small step towards real change. Our language around car safety and the value we put on human lives is how our culture has shifted in relation to wearing seatbelts. Individuals decided their personal boundaries and values around wearing seatbelts, which mirrored positive behavior for young children. Those children grow up not even seeing another option; the consequences are not worth the risky behavior.

The consequences of not wearing your seatbelt can have traumatic impact on you and others, a trauma that can be prevented. Sexual violence is no different. It is 100% preventable.

Our new year's intention is something that makes our office culture unique. We have so many dedicated and unique staff, volunteer advocates, and board members but we all share one passion. Ending rape culture and sexual violence is our common motivator, making Our VOICE driven, focused, and unstoppable.

This new space on our website is going to be a place where our staff, volunteers, board members, survivors, and community allies can share specific short-term goals, thoughts, actions, and feelings. We recognize we cannot achieve our long term goal without our community. Our blog will another forum to create thought and dialog, further connecting you to our cause and to the process of shifting our culture. Together we can end sexual violence!

-Caitlin is the Lead Counselor at Our VOICE. To learn more about our counseling services click here.

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Witty banter, catch phrases, and prison rape jokes are common rhetoric in our society. So I ask, is the image and joke soap on a rope, a slippery slope? Are we encouraging, condoning and finding sexual violence funny? The roaring laughter that inevitably follows suggests that a tool used to reduce risk of sexual assault while incarcerated is found hysterical.

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National Sexual Violence Resource Center

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Learn more on our Questions and Answers page.

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President Trump has once again sparked controversy with poorly worded and insensitive Tweets. This time, he took to the social media network to cast doubt on the credibility of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has made allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

In a series of tweets, he suggested that if Dr. Ford's allegations were 'as bad as she says,' she would have reported it at the time, back in the 1980's. This simplistic take on an experience that is deeply painful, personal and ridden with feelings of fear, shame and guilt, is sadly typical of a President who is chronically lacking in both empathy and self-awareness.

In response to President Trump's dismissive attitude to the struggles of reporting sexual assault, the hashtag #WhyIDidn'tReport has been spreading like wildfire on Twitter. People are opening up about their experiences in raw and emotional ways, and it makes for heartbreaking, yet important reading. The response proves that there is no set procedure for reporting sexual misconduct, the complex emotions that it provokes and the time it can take to process the trauma are subjective and unique to each individual. Attacking a survivor's credibility and integrity can only strengthen the stigma around reporting these crimes, and further encourage others to stay silent. Scroll down below to check out the passionate responses to Trump's tweets for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments.

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Trump Asks "Why Didn't They Call The FBI 36 Years Ago?" Gets Shut Down With #WhyIDidntReport Tweets

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President Trump has once again sparked controversy with poorly worded and insensitive Tweets. This time, he took to the social media network to cast doubt on the credibility of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has made allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

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In this article, people are viewing the problem as women should act respectful and kind, dress modestly and act well. their view is that women carry their family's honor on their shoulders. someone that was interviewed in the article says that "women should watch what they do". This is saying that they view Rape and other violence along these lines as the woman's fault, and there are many more people who agree with this view. However, there is one man, a father who says that the sons should be taught to respect women, and women should be taught to stand up for themselves. He says that women should learn to say that they are not comfortable, that they do not want to be stared at, that  they do not want to be groped. he even goes on to say they should smack the man when they are in these situations. he feels that women should stand up for themselves.

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In this article, people are viewing the problem as women should act respectful and kind, dress modestly and act well. their view is that women carry their family's honor on their shoulders. someone that was interviewed in the article says that "women should watch what they do". This is saying that they view Rape and other violence along these lines as the woman's fault, and there are many more people who agree with this view. However, there is one man, a father who says that the sons should be taught to respect women, and women should be taught to stand up for themselves. He says that women should learn to say that they are not comfortable, that they do not want to be stared at, that  they do not want to be groped. he even goes on to say they should smack the man when they are in these situations. he feels that women should stand up for themselves.

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Let's park that on one side too, because women are just as vulnerable as before. Their daily lives are still ruled by fear.

And if they are unfortunate enough to be raped, a report last month by Human Rights Watch showed that they will still be subjected to humiliation and doubt and questioned about their promiscuity and moral character by police and health workers.

Let's ask instead about the fundamental point: has the average Indian man changed at all in his attitude towards women?

Judging by the latest rape statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau on November 30, it appears not. Rape cases rose by 12.4 per cent in 2016 after a dip between 2014 and 2015.

The increase is probably the result of more women being prepared to report the crime, but it certainly shows that if women hoped the 2012 gang rape would usher in a more progressive male mentality, they were wrong.

'Women should watch what they do'

Regressive attitudes towards women are rooted in India's deeply traditional and conservative culture, in which women embody a family and community's izzat, or honour.

The clothes they wear, where they go, at what time, with whom, must be controlled lest they bring dishonour and disgrace through unacceptable behaviour, such as being seen with a man who is not a relative, smoking, drinking, dancing, wearing revealing clothes or being out after dark.

Men who believe women should not be free to live as they wish are not monsters. Many are hard-working, decent men trying to do the best for their families in very trying circumstances.

But the basic fact is that - barring a Westernised elite that is so minuscule it barely counts - they cannot countenance giving women the personal and social freedoms that are taken for granted in the West.

Take Virendra Kumar, 37, who sells flowers on the roadside in south Delhi. Married with young children, he says emphatically that the men who raped and killed Jyoti Singh Pandey with unbelievable ferocity after she boarded a bus with a male friend to go home after seeing the film Life of Pi on December 16, 2012, "should hang" for their savagery.

Though the Indian government flew Pandey to Singapore for an intestinal transplant - her assailants used an iron rod that ripped out her intestines - she died on December 29.

Kumar expresses sympathy with Pandey and her family but insists that women need to watch what they do.

'A man will only have bad thoughts ...'

"I sit out here all day and see couples on the street holding hands, hugging. These are things that should happen behind closed doors. If the girl who was gang-raped had been making out with her friend on the bus, then that would have provoked the men who raped her," he said.

He states firmly that Indian society does not allow a woman to smoke or drink or wear what she likes.

"She must be covered and look respectable. That way, no man will try anything," he says. "A man will only have bad thoughts about a woman if she is showing a lot of flesh. Not otherwise."

Vijay Verma, 53, has several customers impatiently crowding around the counter of his grocery store in New Friends Colony in Delhi but takes a few minutes to give his views, which are not very different from Kumar's.

Verma is aware that times have changed. Girls and boys mix more freely, girls go to college and cafes, and interact with men in the workplace. He finds all that acceptable.

Then comes the invariable "but".

"But girls here can't be like girls in the West. They have to dress decently and watch where they go, who they are with. If they don't observe these restrictions, they are perceived negatively by men and will be at risk," he said.

Rapes don't happen in villages

These are ordinary men and their views are near-ubiquitous in India, in rural and urban areas, across class, and across religions. Proof that they are entrenched deep in Indian psychology comes from the fact that the same opinions have been voiced by numerous politicians since 2012.

"Earlier, if men and women held hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded, but now everything is so open ... Rapes happen because men and women interact freely," said Mamata Banerjee, a woman who has been chief minister of West Bengal state since 2011.

"Rapes take place in cities and not in villages. Women should refrain from venturing out with men other than their relatives. Such incidents happen due to the influence of Western culture and women wearing less clothes," said Mohan Bhagwat, leader of the influential Hindu social organisation the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 2013.

"Women should not venture out with men who are not relatives," said politician Abu Asim Azmi in 2014, in answer to a question about rising numbers of rapes.

Azmi also said: "The more nudity, the more fashionable a girl is considered. Ants will swarm the place where sugar is."

Against Indian culture

Amir Malik is a driver for a rich family. His job is mainly to ferry around the family's 21-year-old daughter, both for her studies and her socialising. In August, he sought a word with his employer.

"I couldn't take it. It felt wrong. She sits in the back with a skirt so short her thighs show. Or she wears skin-tight leggings that make her look naked. I told my boss I'm not comfortable with her in the back dressed like that. From the village I come from, only disreputable women dress like this," said Malik.

Malik said his employer agreed to ask his daughter to "tone it down a bit".

"But I haven't seen any difference. I'm looking for another job. This is against Indian culture," he said.

Hair stylist Karan Sankhla, 22, agrees with Malik. Women should feel safe wherever they go but they must behave and dress "within a limit".

The hair salon where he works in Bharat Nagar is next to a seedy hotel. Sankle says he sees girls coming with their lovers during the day, having lied to their parents that they are going to work. This, he said, is unacceptable.

"The 2012 victim did nothing wrong. She was innocent. But women can't go to bars wearing short skirts and see-through tops and behave wildly and also say they want to be safe. They need to take precautions. If they don't, they give men wrong ideas," he said.

The nub of the problem

It's not that nothing at all has changed in India since 2012. There is now more debate about women's rights and a greater awareness of the need to educate young boys while still at school.

More and more women's groups are mobilising to fight for freedoms. Rape victims are more likely to reveal their identity because they realise it is the rapist, not they, who should be ashamed.

Three years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi captured the nub of the problem perfectly when, referring to rape, he urged parents at a huge rally at the Red Fort in the capital to take responsibility for the behaviour of their sons rather than putting the onus on their daughters.

"Even when they are only 12, young girls are always being asked so many questions by their parents, like 'where are you off to?'. But do these parents ask their sons where they are going?" he asked.

At his cluttered studio where he frames pictures, Vimal Pradhan, 39, is the only man interviewed by Fairfax Media who had no "but". The father of two boys, Pradhan said that if men are never judged for being out late, for dating, or for drinking, why should women? In fact, Pradhan believes that if Indian men won't change, women must change.

"They are too well behaved. If a man ogles or gropes them, they should slap him hard. They should be more aggressive and scream for help to make it clear they won't tolerate any nonsense," he said.

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Men blame women in western clothes: India's rape culture is thriving

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Let's park that on one side too, because women are just as vulnerable as before. Their daily lives are still ruled by fear. And if they are unfortunate enough to be raped, a report last month by Human Rights Watch showed that they will still be subjected to humiliation and doubt and questioned about their promiscuity and moral character by police and health workers.

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Many people are starting to come out now sharing their experiences because of one tweet. One tweet inspired people to stand up for themselves and others, and that is amazing. One tweet is causing hundreds if not thousands of people to come into the light and share what has been going on behind the scenes. They are standing up and saying that there is something that needs to be done about this, saying that most everybody that has had these experiences have been too scared to come into the light because they fear the shame and blame and hatred that will be thrown at them.

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Many people are starting to come out now sharing their experiences because of one tweet. One tweet inspired people to stand up for themselves and others, and that is amazing. One tweet is causing hundreds if not thousands of people to come into the light and share what has been going on behind the scenes. They are standing up and saying that there is something that needs to be done about this, saying that most everybody that has had these experiences have been too scared to come into the light because they fear the shame and blame and hatred that will be thrown at them.

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"Christin Bowman, a PhD candidate for critical social-personality psychology at CUNY, says we contribute to rape culture “when we create school dress codes for teenagers because apparently the natural female form is ‘distracting’ for male students and teachers.”

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In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits. I'm in the third check-out slot, with my back to the door, so I don't see them until they're over by the bread. The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece.

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I read the poem, and the poem is about a 19 year old guy watching 3 girls wandering around the store that he works at, in bathing suits. he watches them and talks about their bodies and faces, and even quits because they became embarrassed because of his manager.

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Rape victims are not always crying or hysterical. A natural human reaction can be for them to actually be very numb.

Fiona Elvines, operations coordinator at charity Rape Crisis, tells me: "What we know is most of the time someone freezes, which is just a biological response in the same way a rabbit gets caught in the headlights." It means that in police videos showing a victim being interviewed, they may look unemotional but this is just a coping response.

People may also assume that a rape victim will have bruises and signs of physical resisting, but if rape takes place in a relationship, there may be no need for physical violence.

2) The rapist didn't realise she didn't want it

This is known as the sexual miscommunication theory, where people think that the rapist didn't know he was raping, because he thought she was saying yes.

But, as Elvines explains: "Rape for the rapist feels different than normal sex because often the person is frozen. To say that it's a 'miscommunication' is to ignore the fact that normally in sex it's reciprocal. [For a juror or anyone else] To say 'it's that he doesn't understand' ignores that [element of sex]."

3) Rapists are strangers lurking in dark alleys

People commonly assume that rapists hide out in alleyways waiting for their victims. But actually, the majority of rapes are committed by persons known the victim and victims are often raped in their homes.

The Director of Public Prosecutions last week warned against this out-of-date myth, and said: "Despite efforts to raise awareness, many people still believe a rapist is a man in a balaclava in a dark alley, and a victim is a woman who shows her fear through fight.

"That is very rarely the case - most rapists know their victim, many victims do not physically fight and the trauma of being raped will affect each victim differently."

4) When a rape victim reports it, she'll be in court soon

People tend to think that if a victim walks into a police station and makes an allegation, they'll be in court two weeks later. In reality, it takes between a year and 18 months for a case to make it into court, if it even does at all.

During that time, evidence is evaluated by specialists to see if there is enough for a possible prosecution.

5) Rapists are mentally ill monsters

It's a general belief that men who commit rapes are mentally ill or 'monsters'. But studies show that only five per cent of men are psychotic at the time of their crimes and few convicted rapists are referred for psychiatric treatment.

6) Rapists don't have anyone else to have sex with

People assume that men who rape do not have the opportunity to have sex with a willing partner, or is sexually frustrated.

But actually rapists are just as likely as any other man to be having a relationship with a woman. On top of that, more than one in five women are raped by their husbands or partners.

If you wany any advice or support relating to a sexual offence, please contact Rape Crisis on their national freephone helpline 0808 802 9999 or visit their website

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Rape victims are not always crying or hysterical. A natural human reaction can be for them to actually be very numb. Fiona Elvines, operations coordinator at charity Rape Crisis, tells me: "What we know is most of the time someone freezes, which is just a biological response in the same way a rabbit gets caught in the headlights."

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"Sweden, for example, has been criticised for having one of the highest rates of reported rape, even though it is often celebrated for having an advanced understanding of gender rights."

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The UK has a problem with convicting perpetrators of rape. From 2016 to 2017 there were 41,150 rapes reported to the police in England and Wales, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Of those reported, 5,190 cases went to court and 2,991 resulted in a conviction. And that doesn't include the thousands of cases that are said to go unreported each year.

Now, the Metropolitan police has announced it will review all live rape and sex abuse investigations after two trials collapsed in less than a week following claims that police had failed to disclose relevant evidence. The incident highlighted the complex and uniquely sensitive nature of rape cases. And also shone a light on a criminal justice system that needs to improve how it handles sexual assault.

But it isn't just the UK that has a problem. Looking internationally, the picture hardly improves. "No country is doing well on rape. It's a really interesting lightning rod in terms of how far gender equality has progressed - or not," says Professor Liz Kelly, director of the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University. "But there are certainly some countries that do better in terms of how the investigation happens, the seriousness of how reports are dealt with and conviction rates."

Here are the different ways other countries approach rape cases - and things our system could look at?

Rethink the definition of rape

The UK has a narrow definition of rape: penetration by a penis without consent. Rape trials rarely focus on who perpetrated the crime or if the penetration happen. They are more often a discussion of whether the act was consensual. This is problematic, experts say.

"The legal definitions of what behaviour or actions constitute rape and sexual assault are quite clear, but the definition of consent is less so," says Dr Hannah Bows, senior lecturer in criminology at Teesside University. "There remains a lot of confusion across society about what consent means. We need to rethink our definition of consent to address the current misunderstandings around what consent is."

The prosecution must prove that consent was absent and that the defendant lacks reasonable belief in the consent. "It's very difficult to prove beyond reasonable doubt that someone knew for certain there was absolutely no consent," says Dr Bows. "Rape myths are a problem here as it is assumed people will very vocally say 'no' and / or will physically fight to get away. We know in most cases victims don't react like that, so it becomes a weapon for the defence to play into the myth that victims will react in particular ways."

Other countries have a different understanding of the crime and consent, which informs the way it is treated in the criminal justice system. Sweden, for example, has been criticised for having one of the highest rates of reported rape, even though it is often celebrated for having an advanced understanding of gender rights. There, rape includes penetration without consent, as well as other sexual offences.

"The Nordic countries tend to have a higher conviction rate than us, partly because of how they prosecute rape," says Dr Bows. "They have broader definitions or rape."

Sweden is today voting on a change to its rape law, backed by its prime minister, that will shift the burden of proof to the defendant. The change would require explicit consent to be given before any sexual contact occurs. Alleged attackers will need to prove they obtained this.

Have an investigative legal system, instead of an adversarial one

In the UK's adversarial legal system, the jury is presented with two opposing narratives and asked to choose the one they think is most accurate. This results in the prosecution having to prove the complainant didn't consent to intercourse and that the defendant lacked reasonable belief in consent. This often sees victims being interrogated during cross examination by the defence which rely on rape myths and stereotypes to malign the victim and discredit them.

"One of the major problems with the adversarial system here is that the telling of the story in rape cases focuses on the credibility of the victim and various myths are used to malign them," says Dr Bows. "Sexual history is still used a lot even though law changes say it should only be introduced in limited circumstances and with prior agreement by the Judge."

Investigative legal systems, in which a judge directs the proceedings and decides guilt, are used across Europe and are less likely to result in victims being attacked and their story questioned. "Institutional practices should treat victims properly and believe them rather than have them under suspicion," says Dr Bows. "We have a culture of disbelief within our criminal justice system, which becomes one of the key tactics by the defence."

Prof Kelly found in a 2010 study of EU member states that investigative legal systems have a higher success when it comes to convicting people in rape cases. This is because of the judge's more nuanced investigation and an institutional shift towards analysis rather than right or wrong.

"More cases are prosecuted and more result in a conviction, because the way the investigation happens is different," she says.

Shift power from the police to the judiciary

The majority of rape cases reported to police in England and Wales are given a "no action", which means the police don't investigate or charge an alleged attacker.

"One of the biggest problems with getting a conviction is that so many cases drop out at the first stage, when police decide to no further action it," says Dr Bows. "The police will sometimes make an initial judgement about the case and no further action it based on perceptions of the victim's credibility and/or the way they explain what happened to them. This leads back to stereotypes that victims will remember details and report immediately."

Research has shown that victims do not behave in a stereotypical manner and rape cases do not all conform to presupposed notions of the "stranger-in-the-night attacker". But police practices haven't updated to reflect this changed understanding, Dr Bows says.

In France and Germany all cases that are reported to the police must be passed to the prosecuting authority, or the equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service. The police do not have the power to prevent an investigation into a case, unlike in the UK. This means that all reports of rape are given due process and time.

Challenge 'rape-myths'

Sexual history often feeds into jurors' prejudices in the UK, as does whether the victim has been drinking or messaging the alleged perpetrator. But most rape occurs in familiar situations and victims are more likely to know their attacker than not. This means it is not unheard of for them to have been drinking or to have spoken with the perpetrator before.

"Rape cases pretty much everywhere reflect the level of sexism and misogyny in that society," says Prof Kelly. "Any woman who is sexually active or has been drinking beforehand is deemed suspect. Those facts are seen to make her account less credible.

"If these facts of everyday life are invalidations of a complaint of rape then we're not investigating a crime, we're investigating whether someone fits the stereotype of a good victim."

Nordic countries have been praised for having forward-thinking ideas about gender and what rape means. Australia has also been lauded for its national action plan to address sexual and gender-based violence, as well as perceptions of women within society.

Open discussions about gender stereotypes and rape myths have helped these countries inform the way sexual violence is policed and understood in society.

Offer free legal assistance

The UK provides alleged rape victims with access to an advocate who can help guide them through the process of reporting a case and going to trial. But these advocates aren't always legally trained. Across Europe, those who have reported a rape are provided with free help from a qualified lawyer.

"In a number of European countries, victims have a right to legal advice and are allocated a lawyer who moves through the process with them," says Prof Kelly. "We have independent sexual violence advocates, but they're not legally trained and they can't do what these lawyers in Finland, Norway and Germany can."

In these countries, the legal advocates help victims claim compensation at the end of proceedings, which are paid by the perpetrator as reparations and recognition of harm.

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What can we learn from other countries when it comes to rape convictions?

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The UK has a problem with convicting perpetrators of rape. From 2016 to 2017 there were 41,150 rapes reported to the police in England and Wales, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Of those reported, 5,190 cases went to court and 2,991 resulted in a conviction.

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"Only eight European countries out of 31 (in the European Economic Area and Switzerland) recognise the simple truth that sex without consent is rape."

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Approximately nine million women in the EU have been raped since the age of 15. The number is shocking. Equally alarming is the fact that few European countries treat this crime as seriously as they should - in law and in practice.
Only eight European countries out of 31 (in the European Economic Area and Switzerland) recognise the simple truth that sex without consent is rape.

What message does this send to perpetrators? What does this say to our societies, where survivors are still overwhelmingly blamed for being sexually assaulted?

The lack of legal recognition that non-consensual sex is rape feeds into the perception that it is our responsibility as women to protect ourselves from rape. These attitudes are dangerous and need to change.

The United Kingdom (comprising England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), Ireland, Belgium, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Iceland, Germany and Sweden all have consent-based definitions.

But the remaining 23 European countries are lagging far behind, with their criminal laws still defining rape on the basis of physical force or threat thereof, coercion or inability to defend oneself.

Out of the Nordic countries, widely considered as beacons of gender equality, Iceland was the first to introduce a consent-based definition.

MP Jón Steindór Valdimarsson, who advocated for the change in Iceland, told the Reykjavik Grapevine: "It will probably help prevent sexual encounters that happen without consent. That is, I think, the main impact of this law."

Will the other Nordics and the rest of Europe follow suit?

In Norway, politicians just missed the opportunity. On 5 April, the Norwegian Parliament rejected such a change, on the very same day that the United Nations Human Rights Committee criticised the government for the current law. However, in neighbouring Sweden the government passed a new consent law in 2018, following years of activism by civil society groups. In Denmark and Finland, similar proposals are being advocated for by numerous activists and organisations.

A legal definition of rape on the basis of the absence of consent is not new or ground-breaking. It is a recognised international human rights standard. The Council of Europe's Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (The Istanbul Convention), widely hailed as the most comprehensive legal framework to date to tackle violence against women and girls, obliges signatories to criminalize all non-consensual acts of sexual nature. Despite the fact that the Istanbul Convention has been ratified by more than 20 European states, the majority of them have yet to amend their legal definitions of rape.

In the past five years, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) has urged several European states to bring their legislation on rape in line with international standards, including the Istanbul Convention, and to define rape on the basis of the absence of consent.

According to the European Commission's 2016 survey on gender-based violence, almost one-third of respondents considered that sexual intercourse without consent may be justified "in certain circumstances." These included, for example, if the person is drunk or under the influence of drugs, is voluntarily going home with someone, wearing revealing clothes, not saying "no" clearly or not fighting back.

In fact, despite the expectation that a "model" rape victim will fight her attacker back, freezing when confronted with a sexual attack has been recognised as a common physiological and psychological response, leaving the person unable to oppose the assault, often to the point of immobility. For example, a 2017 Swedish clinical study found that 70% of the 298 women rape survivors assessed experienced "involuntary paralysis" during the assault.

In an ongoing case in the North of Spain, the autopsy of the body of Diana Quer, who disappeared in 2016, did not allow for establishing whether she was raped based on biological evidence due to the level of decomposition. But the case sparked important discussions about how misguided the expectations on women to physically resist rape are after some media speculated that Diana was killed precisely because she resisted sexual assault. Not only societal expectations but too many criminal justice systems place the burden on women to fight instead of on perpetrators not to rape. As this case shows, when women resist, they may pay with their lives. When they don't, they are often not believed.

In Northern Ireland, the highly publicised acquittal of four Ulster rugby players for rape and other sexual offences provoked nationwide discussions about the adequacy of the legal processes and their treatment of complainants. During the trial the complainant was questioned by four defence lawyers for eight days and her bloodied underwear was exhibited in court. This sparked an outpouring of solidarity with the woman in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with thousands of people attending demonstrations in Belfast, Cork, Dublin and other cities, expressing support through the #IBelieveHer hashtag and Facebook page and sharing their own stories.

What the Belfast trial has showed vividly is that even in a jurisdiction where rape is defined on the basis of lack of consent, numerous obstacles remain in the way of women's access to justice for rape. Consent-based definitions of rape and legal reforms are not the ultimate solutions to addressing and preventing this ever-present crime, rather they are significant and necessary starting points.

Implementation and prevention are hindered by widespread prejudice, victim blaming, stereotypes and myths, often among those tasked with preventing rape and enabling survivors' access to justice. With the #MeToo movement, our voices as women are being heard, perhaps like never before. But it is not just up to activists to enforce changes.

Freedom from rape is a human right. It's high time states take responsibility and step in to recognise - in law - that sex without consent is rape.

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Sex without consent is rape. So why do only eight European countries recognise this?

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Only eight European countries out of 31 recognise, in law, that sex without consent is rape. With cases such as the Belfast rape trial, we are reminded how important it is for our laws to reflect that freedom from rape is a human right and must be protected.

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India seems to be dangerous for women...

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India seems to be dangerous for women...

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There are several reports all over the web about how India is very dangerous for women right now. Their views of women are dangerous when it comes to women's safety and rights. They cannot walk the streets without being talked about, harassed, shammed. this is leading to many rapes, assaults, harassment, and even murders.

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when he was sentenced to just 6 months, he got out in 3, people were outraged. he was later served a harsher sentence, but only because the case had gone viral. if the case hadn't gone viral, then the sentence would have been what it was the first time and he wouldn't have to register as a sex offender. the first sentence didn't make him have to do that but the second one does.

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CLOSE

A former Stanford University swimmer whose sexual assault of an incapacitated woman drew national headlines and widespread scorn lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday, pushing him closer to having to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The three-judge panel of the 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose, California, ruled Brock Turner, convicted of sex assault and attempted rape, received a fair trial.

In 2016, a jury convicted Turner of assaulting the intoxicated and unconscious woman outside an on-campus fraternity party.

The case got national attention after the victim's powerful statement, which she read in court before Turner was sentenced, was shared widely online.

She recounted the assault, her treatment by investigators and the ordeal of facing questions about her sexual activity and drinking habits. It quickly went viral.

"Instead of taking time to heal, I was taking time to recall the night in excruciating detail, in order to prepare for the attorney's questions that would be invasive, aggressive and designed to steer me off course, to contradict myself, my sister, phrased in ways to manipulate my answers," she wrote. "This was a game of strategy, as if I could be tricked out of my own worth."

Two graduate students on bicycles interrupted the assault and saw Turner on top of the victim, "who appeared to be asleep," according to the appeals court decision.

More: Ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner appeals rape conviction

Related: Judge Aaron Persky, who gave Brock Turner lenient sentence in rape case, recalled from office

After seeing the victim's helpless condition, one of the bikers yelled to Turner and said "She's unconscious," the court decision said. Turner then tried to run away but was tackled by the biker.

Turner "smiled and tried to get free," but was unable to do so, the court document said.

Judge Aaron Persky rejected a prosecutor's demand for a lengthy prison term and instead sentenced Turner to six months in jail. He was released from jail in September 2016 after serving three months.

Persky's sentence sparked nationwide outrage by those who felt it too lenient.

Voters recalled Persky in June.

The sentence was not part of the appeal and the judges didn't address it.

Turner filed an appeal in December seeking a new trial, arguing that the evidence presented at his trial didn't support his convictions. The jury convicted him of sexually assaulting an intoxicated victim, sexually assaulting an unconscious victim and attempting to rape her.

Judge Franklin Elia, writing for the unanimous panel, said there was "substantial evidence" to support conviction of all three charges. In particular, the judge pointed out that Turner tried to run from the graduate students who confronted him assaulting the then-22-year-old woman.

"He did not explain or defend himself to them," Elia wrote. "And he lied to police about running."

Turner could petition the California Supreme Court to consider his appeal. Turner's attorney Eric Multhaup didn't return a phone call Wednesday.

Stanford law professor Michelle Dauber, who led the judge's recall campaign, called on Turner to drop any further appeals.

"The appellate court has now rejected that idea, and I think everyone, including Brock Turner, would be better served by accepting the jury's verdict and moving on," she said.

Turner lives outside Dayton, Ohio, with his parents. Pending further appeal, he is required to register as a sex offender for life.
Contributing: Associated Press
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2vSsCBn

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Brock Turner, ex-Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault, denied new trial

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CLOSE A former Stanford University swimmer whose sexual assault of an incapacitated woman drew national headlines and widespread scorn lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday, pushing him closer to having to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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"more than 4,000 US Roman Catholic priests had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years, in cases involving more than 10,000 children - mostly boys."

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From Australian country towns to schools in Ireland and cities across the US, the Catholic Church has faced an avalanche of child sexual abuse accusations in the last few decades.

High-profile cases and harrowing testimony given to public inquiries have continued to keep the issue in the headlines.

A Vatican statement said Pope Francis "felt pain" over the findings, and expressed hopes for a "path of redemption".

But alleged cover-ups continue to dog the Catholic Church, and victims groups say the Vatican has not done nearly enough to right its wrongs.

Here's what you need to know.

Although some accusations date back to the 1950s, molestation by priests was first given significant media attention in the 1980s, in the US and Canada.

In the 1990s the issue began to grow, with stories emerging in Argentina, Australia and elsewhere. In 1995, the Archbishop of Vienna, in Austria, stepped down amid sexual abuse allegations, rocking the Church there.

Also in that decade, revelations began of widespread historical abuse in Ireland. By the early 2000s, sexual abuse within the Church was a major global story.

In the US, determined reporting by the Boston Globe newspaper (as captured in the 2015 film Spotlight) exposed widespread abuse and how paedophile priests were moved around by Church leaders instead of being held accountable. It prompted people to come forward across the US and around the world.

A Church-commissioned report in 2004 said more than 4,000 US Roman Catholic priests had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years, in cases involving more than 10,000 children - mostly boys.

A 2009 report found that sexual and psychological abuse was "endemic" in Catholic-run industrial schools and orphanages in Ireland for most of the 20th Century.

A five-year Australian inquiry in 2017 found that "tens of thousands of children" were sexually abused in Australian institutions over decades, including churches, schools and sports clubs.

The head of the French inquiry said that until the early 2000s, the Church had shown "deep, total and even cruel indifference" towards victims. He stressed that even today the abuse had not been eradicated, and called for the victims to be compensated and for reforms within the Church.

What about recent cases?

Theodore McCarrick, a former Roman Catholic cardinal in the US, was defrocked over claims he sexually assaulted a teenager in New York in the early 1970s. Mr McCarrick - thought to be the highest-ranking US Catholic to face sex abuse charges - has said he has "no recollection" of the alleged abuse, and pleaded not guilty at a US court last month

The Catholic Church in Scotland announced that it was setting up an independent watchdog to deal with abuse complaints against members of the clergy following a number of sex scandals where the church was accused of failing to respond to concerns

Germany's top Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, earlier this year offered his resignation over child sex abuse scandals, saying it was important to him "to share the responsibility for the catastrophe". However, the Pope later rejected his resignation

In November 2020, New York's Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the Buffalo Catholic Diocese, alleging its leaders protected priests accused of child sex abuse. The diocese has pledged "full cooperation" with authorities

French priest Bernard Preynat was sentenced to five years in prison in March 2020 for sexually abusing dozens of children in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. During his trial, he told the court he had not understood how serious or grave his crimes were

Australian Cardinal George Pell - the most senior Catholic figure ever jailed for such crimes - had his conviction for child abuse overturned in April 2020 and was freed from prison. Australia's High Court judges agreed that the jury had not properly considered all the evidence presented at the trial. The former senior adviser to the Pope had consistently maintained his innocence.

How has the Church responded?

Pope Francis called for "decisive action" when he was elected in 2013, but critics say he has not done enough to hold to account bishops who allegedly covered up abuse.

His predecessor, Pope Benedict, had been accused of failing to protect children and suppressing investigations - allegations he denied.

Before him, under Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Bernard Law, the disgraced figure at the centre of the Boston scandal, was given a symbolic role in Rome close to the Vatican and allowed to maintain his rank, despite outrage from victims.

Between 2000 and 2010 several huge payouts were made by US dioceses to settle victims' claims.

In 2011, Pope Benedict told bishops, in new guidelines, that they had to report any suspected cases to local police promptly. Previously, all cases were supposed to be referred to Rome.

Under Francis, a special panel has been set up to deal with the issue but it has faced setbacks, including high-level resignations. In 2017, Marie Collins, an Irish survivor of abuse, left the group, citing "stumbling blocks and hindrances".

During the summit in February 2019, Pope Francis promised an end to cover-ups, saying that all abusers would be brought to justice.

His announcement of changes to the law earlier this year marked the biggest overhaul of the Roman Catholic Church's criminal code in decades.

The new rules - which come into effect in December - make sexual abuse, grooming minors for sex, possessing child pornography and covering up abuse a criminal offence under Vatican law.

The Pope said one aim was to "reduce the number of cases in which the... penalty was left to the discretion of authorities".

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Catholic Church child sexual abuse scandal

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Everything you need to know about this complex and longstanding global scandal.

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there is something that we overlook when on this topic. In the military you have a good chance of being sexually harassed or abused. 

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there is something that we overlook when on this topic. In the military you have a good chance of being sexually harassed or abused. 

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What is military sexual trauma (MST)?

During their service, both female and male Service members sometimes have upsetting, unwanted sexual experiences, including sexual assault or sexual harassment. "Military sexual trauma" or MST is the term used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to refer to these experiences. The official definition of MST used by VA is given by federal law (U.S. Code 1720D of Title 38). It is:

Psychological trauma, which in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the Veteran was serving on active duty or active duty for training.

Sexual harassment is defined as "repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is threatening in character."

In more concrete terms, MST includes any sexual activity where you were involved against your will. You may have been physically forced into sexual activities. Or, no physical force may have been used but you were coerced or pressured into sexual activities. For example, you may have been threatened with negative consequences for refusing to cooperate. Or it may have been suggested that you would get faster promotions or better treatment in exchange for sex. These are all signs of MST.

Military sexual trauma also includes sexual experiences that happened while you were not able to consent to sexual activities, such as if you were intoxicated. Other MST experiences include unwanted sexual touching or grabbing, threatening, offensive remarks about your body or your sexual activities, and threatening and unwelcome sexual advances. If these experiences occurred while you were on active duty or active duty for training, they are considered to be MST.

"I remember the faces, the words, the smells, the negative, the unwarranted, unsolicited touches. I remember all of that. And I have friends who also are Veterans and went through worse than I did."

It's important to know that MST can occur on or off base, during war or peacetime, and while a Service member is on or off duty. Perpetrators can be men or women, military personnel or civilians, superiors or subordinates in the chain of command. They may have been a stranger to you, or even a friend or intimate partner. Veterans from all eras of service have reported experiencing MST.

If you experienced military sexual assault or harassment, you may blame yourself or feel ashamed. It is important to remember that MST is not your fault. Nothing ever justifies someone harassing or assaulting you.

How can MST affect Veterans?

Military sexual trauma is an experience, not a diagnosis or a condition in and of itself. Because of this, Veterans may react in a wide variety of ways to experiencing MST. Problems may not surface until months or years after the MST, and sometimes not until after a Veteran has left military service. For some Veterans, experiences of MST may continue to affect their mental and physical health, work, relationships, and everyday life even many years later.

Your reaction may depend on factors such as:

Whether you have a prior history of trauma

The types of responses you received from others at the time of the experience

Whether the experience happened once or was repeated over time

Some of the difficulties both female and male survivors of MST may have include:

Strong emotions: feeling depressed; having intense, sudden emotional responses to things; feeling angry or irritable all the time

Feelings of numbness: feeling emotionally "flat"; trouble feeling love or happiness

Trouble sleeping: trouble falling or staying asleep; bad dreams or nightmares

Trouble with attention, concentration, and memory: trouble staying focused; often finding your mind wandering; having a hard time remembering things

Problems with alcohol or other drugs: drinking to excess or using drugs daily; getting drunk or "high" to cope with memories or unpleasant feelings; drinking to fall asleep

Trouble with reminders of the sexual trauma: feeling on edge or "jumpy" all the time; not feeling safe; going out of your way to avoid reminders of the trauma; trouble trusting others

Problems in relationships: feeling alone or not connected to others; abusive relationships; trouble with employers or authority figures

Physical health problems: sexual issues; chronic pain; weight or eating problems; stomach or bowel problems

Fortunately, people can recover from experiences of trauma, and VA has services to help Veterans move their lives forward.

Why can MST be so harmful?

Sexual assault is more likely to result in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than are most other types of trauma, including combat. Also, the experience of MST can differ from the experience of other traumas, and even from the experience of sexual trauma in the civilian world. Why is this?

"Going through a sexual assault is bad enough. Then to have this happen to me in my job as a soldier; it was really difficult because what happened to the unit support? Your fellow soldiers are supposed to have your back."

Factors that may be unique to MST include:

You may have had to continue to live and work with your perpetrator, and even rely on him or her for essential things like food, health care, or watching your back on patrol

You may have been worried about damaging the team spirit of your unit if your perpetrator was in the same unit

You may have been worried about appearing weak or vulnerable, and thoughts that others would not respect you

You may have thought that if others found out, it would end your career or your chances for promotion

For these and other reasons, the experience of MST can put Service members in some no-win situations and be emotionally difficult for them to resolve as Veterans.

What should I know about treatment and VA services?

Although MST can be a very difficult experience, there are treatments available that can significantly improve your quality of life. Treatment often involves addressing any immediate health and safety concerns, followed by counseling to help you learn new ways of thinking, practice positive behaviors, and take active steps to cope with the effects of MST. Treatment may focus on strategies for coping with difficult emotions and memories or, for Veterans who are ready, treatment may involve actually talking about the MST experiences in depth.

At VA, Veterans can receive free, confidential treatment for mental and physical health conditions related to MST. You may be able to receive this MST-related care even if you are not eligible for other VA services. To receive these services, you do not need a VA service-connected disability rating, and you don't need to have reported the incident when it happened nor to have other documentation that it occurred.

Knowing that MST survivors may have special concerns, every VA health care facility has an MST Coordinator who can answer any questions you might have about VA's MST services. VA has a range of services available to meet Veterans where they are in their recovery process:

Every VA health care facility has providers knowledgeable about treatment for problems related to MST. Many have specialized outpatient mental health services focusing on sexual trauma. Vet Centers also have specially trained sexual trauma counselors.

VA has over 20 programs nationwide that offer specialized MST treatment in a residential or inpatient setting. These programs are for Veterans who need more intense treatment and support.

Because some Veterans do not feel comfortable in mixed-gender treatment settings, some facilities have separate programs for men and women. All residential and inpatient MST programs have separate sleeping areas for men and women.

What can I do to help manage my reactions to my experiences of MST?

If you're having problems related to your experiences of MST, you should consider seeking support from a doctor or counselor. In addition, there are many things you can do on your own to heal and recover after MST. Some basic lifestyle changes can have a positive impact on your overall well-being. Try to:

Get a good night's sleep

Maintain a healthy diet by eating right

Seek medical advice for any health concerns

Avoid excessive use of alcohol

Take over-the-counter and prescription drugs only as directed by your doctor

Avoid illegal drug use

Avoid risky behavior, like unsafe sex, gambling, and reckless driving

Recognize triggers-keep a record to help identify situations that are more likely to worsen your symptoms

Take up a new hobby or a recreational activity that can be a healthy way to fill your time

Talk to others-this can help you from feeling isolated and give friends and loved ones a chance to help you

Exercise regularly

Practice relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises, meditation, or prayer

Your close family and friends may notice that you're having a tough time. If you feel comfortable, you may want to talk to them about what you're experiencing. They may be able to provide support and help you find treatment that is right for you.

"You can find the plan and techniques that work for you. What worked for me may not work for you but I can tell you I found the steps that led to my recovery: going to VA, asking about their options, talking to somebody about my MST and PTSD, going to their classes, attending their groups."

You can also take a confidential and anonymous self-assessment about your reactions. This short list of questions may help you decide how important it is to see a professional for further evaluation.

Take the next step to connect with care.

Every day, Veterans from all military service branches and eras connect with proven resources and effective treatments for MST-related issues. Here's how to take the next step: the one that's right for you.
New to VA? Apply for health care benefits. Already enrolled in VA and interested in mental health support? Schedule a mental health appointment.

If you're already enrolled and using VA health care, the fastest way to schedule VA appointments is to call the VA facility where you want to receive care.

With VA Appointments tools , you can schedule some VA health care appointments online, view details about upcoming appointments, and organize your health care calendar.

If you're not using VA medical services, contact your nearest VA medical center or Vet Center to talk about your needs.

What about other options at VA? VA offers a variety of tools and resources.

The Veteran Training online self-help portal for overcoming everyday challenges includes modules on managing anger, developing parenting and problem-solving skills, and more.

Mental health apps for Veterans cover a variety of topics, ranging from PTSD to anger management to quitting smoking.

VA TeleMental Health connects you with a VA mental health provider through a computer or mobile device in your home or at your nearest VA health facility. You can learn more about this option from your local VA medical center.

Vet Centers provide support, counseling, and readjustment services for Veterans and active duty service members (including members of the National Guard and Reserve) who have served on active military duty in any combat theater or area of hostility or have experienced a military sexual trauma. Find a Vet Center near you or call 1-877-WAR-VETS (1-877-927-8387) to talk with a fellow combat Veteran about your experiences, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

What about support beyond VA?
There's a whole community of support ready to help with whatever you're going through. Use this tool to find resources near you.

Explore these resources for more information about MST and its effects in Veterans.

Learn more about what you can do if you are experiencing specific concerns related to military sexual trauma, such as relationship problems, alcohol or drug problems, depression, and posttraumatic stress.

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Military Sexual Trauma | Real Stories From Military Veterans | Make the Connection

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During their service, both female and male Service members sometimes have upsetting, unwanted sexual experiences, including sexual assault or sexual harassment. "Military sexual trauma" or MST is the term used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to refer to these experiences. The official definition of MST used by VA is given by federal law (U.S.

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When a veteran submits a disability claim for post-traumatic stress disorder, a troubling factor can predict whether he or she will ever receive benefits: whether that claim is related to sexual assault.

A recent Government Accountability Office report found that while the Department of Veterans Affairs is approving an increasing number of veterans' PTSD claims, applications for PTSD related to sexual trauma are much more likely to be denied than those related to combat or other trauma.

Seven members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, requested the GAO report. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told The Huffington Post that the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to work toward more consistent treatment of sexual trauma-related disability claims from veterans.

"These are deeply painful and personal issues, and veterans should not have to go through this process repeatedly because their claims were incorrectly denied," she said.

Murray has been actively trying to pass legislation related to sexual assault in the military. A bill she introduced introduced last year with Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R.-N.H.) did not move forward, but some of its main provisions, like providing trained lawyers to military victims of sexual assault, were included in the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act.

The VA defines "military sexual trauma," or MST, as "sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that occurred while the Veteran was in the military."

All veterans can access counseling and medical care for issues related to MST, regardless of whether they have evidence of trauma sustained during service. But in order to file with the VA for monetary compensation, a veteran must prove they are suffering a disability related to MST, like PTSD or depression.

If a veteran is claiming disability for combat-related PTSD, the VA requires little more than their personal testimony and details of their service. Veterans with MST-related disability claims, however, need evidence corroborating their personal testimony. The VA requires them to show they've been diagnosed with PTSD, prove that the inciting incident occurred while they were in the military and prove a link between the incident and their current symptoms.

VA staff in regional offices who consider these claims look at a range of indicators, known as "markers," as evidence. Markers can include law enforcement records, rape crisis center records, pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease tests, and statements from family members, friends and fellow service members, according to the GAO report.

But VA regional office staff members interviewed by the GAO said it was difficult to standardize the process, and that even with guidance and training, it's difficult to identify what exactly qualifies as a marker.

If staff determine that there's enough evidence to support a claim, the case is passed on to a Veterans Health Administration medical examiner, who rules on whether an incident occurred and is related to current PTSD symptoms. Only then can a veteran's disability claim be approved.

The report found that medical examiners had varied opinions on how to evaluate MST-related cases -- some interviewed by the GAO said they relied heavily on evidence presented in the veteran's claim file, while others said they might simply base their decision on whether they believed the veteran.

Examination length also varied widely. Some veterans were seen for only a few minutes, while others spent more than an hour with an examiner, the report said.

Greg Jacob, the policy director for Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), said that since many sexual assaults are not reported, evidence has often been lost by the time a veteran files a claim. The Department of Defense has noted that underreporting is a problem in the military.

An anonymous survey by the Defense Department estimated that about 26,000 active duty service members had experienced sexual assault or other unwanted sexual contact in 2012. But according to the department's numbers, in 2012, only 3,374 sexual assaults were reported.

In an annual report on the topic, the Pentagon said that 5,061 service members reported being sexually assaulted in 2013 -- an increase it attributed to new efforts to encourage reporting.

But even if an assault gets reported, and a veteran later chooses to submit an MST-related disability claim, the GAO found that the person's location can significantly impact whether the claim is approved. A 2013 report from the American Civil Liberties Union and SWAN similarly found large regional differences in claim approvals.

Jacob said these regional differences point to inconsistencies in how claims are processed by VA staff and medical examiners. Approvals, he said, are "more a function of where you live than what your claim is."

According to Jacob, the VA should change the regulations on evidence for MST-related PTSD claims, giving more weight to the personal testimony of veterans seeking benefits. This would make the process more closely resemble that for other PTSD claims, he said.

The VA has taken steps to bring its treatment of sexual assault-related PTSD claims in line with that of other PTSD cases, including requiring more staff training, allowing denied claims to be resubmitted and allowing a wider range of evidence to corroborate veteran's claims. Murray called the changes "long overdue."

Recognizing that MST-related claims brought to the VA between 2010 and 2013 may have been erroneously denied due to a lack of staff training, the VA sent letters last year to 2,667 veterans whose claims were denied, notifying them that they could resubmit them. According to the GAO, an "undetermined number" of additional eligible veterans were not asked to resubmit claims.

But the effort didn't lead to many overturned decisions, the GAO found.

In its report, the agency recommended that the VA improve its training process for staff dealing with sexual assault cases and conduct more outreach to affected veterans to let them know they can resubmit denied claims. More formal training for VA medical examiners on conducting sexual assault-related exams will be implemented in September 2014, according to the report.

"Meeting the needs of Veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma is of the highest importance to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The department is working very hard to ensure that these claims are adjudicated compassionately and fairly, with sensitivity to the unique circumstances presented by each individual claim," the VA said in a statement.
This post has been updated with a statement from the VA and to include additional information on Murray's legislation on sexual assault in the military.

BEFORE YOU GO

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Why Military Sexual Assault Survivors Have Trouble Getting The Benefits They Deserve

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When a veteran submits a disability claim for post-traumatic stress disorder, a troubling factor can predict whether he or she will ever receive benefits: whether that claim is related to sexual assault.

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They say in the article that most abuse happens in the food and service hospitality industry, which is where most people get their beginning jobs.

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1 In 3 Women Has Been Sexually Harassed At Work

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1 In 3 Women Has Been Sexually Harassed At Work

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Sexual Harassment and Assault at Work: Understanding the Costs

In recent months, the #MeToo movement has raised the visibility of sexual harassment and assault at work and the personal toll it takes on women's lives to unprecedented levels. Workplace sexual harassment is widespread, with studies estimating that anywhere from almost a quarter to more than eight in ten women experience it in their lifetimes (Feldblum and Lipnic 2016). Sexual harassment and assault at work have serious implications for women and for their employers. Women who are targets may experience a range of negative consequences, including physical and mental health problems, career interruptions, and lower earnings. In addition, sexual harassment may limit or discourage women from advancing into higher paid careers and may contribute to the persistent gender wage gap. It may also intersect with other forms of discrimination and harassment on the basis of race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

Through a review of the current literature on sexual harassment and assault, this briefing paper highlights how workplace sexual harassment and assault affect women's economic advancement and security, and the costs of these harms to employers (including estimates of financial losses where available). It also provides recommendations for preventing sexual harassment and reducing the negative effects of harassment for individuals and workplaces.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines sexual assault as "any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the victim lacks the capacity to consent" (U.S. DOJ, OVW 2018). While sexual assault is a criminal offense, the law also recognizes sexual harassment as a form of employment discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) states that "unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment" (U.S. EEOC 2018a). Such harassment may include unwelcome verbal, visual, nonverbal, or physical conduct that is of a sexual nature or based on someone's sex. Case law has established that to meet the legal standards for action, workplace harassment must be "severe or pervasive" and affect working conditions (U.S. EEOC 2018b).

Sexual harassment constitutes illegal sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is enforced by the EEOC; anyone who wants to bring a legal claim of sexual harassment under Title VII has to bring a charge to the EEOC or a cooperating state agency first.[1] In 2017 the EEOC received 26,978 claims of workplace harassment, of which a little more than half (12,428) were about sex-based harassment[2] and a quarter (6,696) specifically about sexual harassment (U.S. EEOC 2018). Between 2005 and 2015, women made eight in ten sexual harassment charges to the EEOC; 20 percent were made by men (Frye 2017). Among women, Black women were the most likely of all racial and ethnic groups to have filed a sexual harassment charge (15.3 charges per 100,000 workers), and 1 in 17 sexual harassment charges filed with the EEOC also alleged racial discrimination (Rossie, Tucker, and Patrick 2018). Research suggests that only a small number of those who experience harassment (one in ten) ever formally report incidents of harassment-let alone make a charge to the EEOC-because of lack of accessible complaints processes, simple embarrassment, or fear of retaliation (Cortina and Berdahl 2008). This fear is justified: according to an analysis of EEOC data, 71 percent of charges in FY 2017 included a charge of retaliation (Frye 2017).

In 2015 the EEOC convened a Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace to better understand why harassment persists in so many workplaces and what can help prevent it. The Select Task Force looked not only at harassment that met the legal definition, but also at conduct and behavior that "may set the stage for unlawful harassment."[3]

Identifying work-related factors associated with increased risk of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace may help target efforts to eliminate sexual harassment in particular occupations and situations. Some key risk factors include:

* Working for tips. Workers in "accommodation and food services"-which includes wait staff and hotel housekeepers who are typically classified as "tipped"-account for 14 percent of harassment charges to the EEOC, which is substantially higher than the sector's share of total employment (Frye 2017). A survey by the Restaurant Opportunities Center finds that women restaurant workers who rely on tips for their main source of income in states where the sub-minimum wage is $2.13 are twice as likely to experience sexual harassment-from managers, co-workers, and customers-as women servers in states that pay the same minimum wage to all workers. The survey also found that many women employees continue to work in tipped jobs in spite of harassment because tips are an important part of their income (Rodriguez and Reyes 2014).

* Working in an isolated context. Many workers-such as female janitors, domestic care workers, hotel workers, and agricultural workers, who often work in isolated spaces-report higher than average rates of sexual harassment and assault (Fernández Campbell 2018; Yeung and Rubenstein 2013; Yeung 2015). Isolation leaves women vulnerable to abusers who may feel emboldened by a lack of witnesses (Feldblum and Lipnic 2016). Frontline reported in 2015 that ABM (described as the largest employer of janitors) had 42 lawsuits brought against it in the previous two decades for allegations of workplace sexual harassment, assault, or rape (Yeung 2015). A National Domestic Workers Alliance and University of Chicago report found that 36 percent of live-in workers surveyed reported having been harassed, threatened, insulted or verbally abused in the previous 12 months (Burnham and Theodore 2012).

* Lacking legal immigration status or having only a temporary work visa. Undocumented workers or those on temporary work visas can be at particular risk of harassment and assault. Agriculture, food processing and garment factories, and domestic work and janitorial services are fields where many undocumented and immigrant women work (Bauer and Ramirez 2010; Hegewisch, Deitch, and Murphy 2011; Yeung and Rubenstein 2013; Yeung 2015). In principle, victims of sexual violence at work who bring charges have the same protection against deportation as survivors of domestic violence through U-visas (Hyunhye Cho 2014). Yet, many fear that reporting harassment or assault will put their immigration status at risk. Others may not know their rights or may find it difficult to access legal supports without knowing English. Retaliation against women who speak up against workplace sexual assault may involve threats to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement or to revoke temporary work visas (Bauer and Ramirez 2010; Smith, Avendaño, and Ortega 2009).

* Working in a male-dominated job. Women working in occupations where they are a small minority, particularly in very physical environments (Willness, Steel, and Lee 2007) or environments focused on traditionally male-oriented tasks (Fitzgerald et al. 1997), may also be especially vulnerable to harassment and assault. In a survey from the early 1990s, close to six in ten women working in construction report being touched or asked for sex (LeBreton and Loevy 1992). In another study from 2013, three in ten women construction workers report experiencing sexual harassment daily or frequently, with similar numbers reporting harassment based on sexual orientation, race, or age (Hegewisch and O'Farrell 2015). A 2014 RAND study of sexual assault and harassment in the military estimated that 26 percent of active duty women had experienced sexual harassment or gender discrimination in the past year, including almost five percent who had experienced one or more sexual assaults (compared with seven and one percent of active duty men, respectively; National Defense Research Institute 2014). A recent National Academy of Sciences study documented high levels of harassment of women faculty and staff in academia in science, engineering, and medicine, with women in academic medicine reporting more frequent gender harassment than their female colleagues in science and engineering (National Academy of Sciences 2018).

* Working in a setting with significant power differentials and "rainmakers." Many workplaces have significant power disparities between workers. These power imbalances, particularly given women's lower likelihood of being in the senior positions, are a risk factor for sexual harassment and assault.[4] Workers in more junior positions may be especially concerned with retaliation, the handling of internal complaints, and continued vulnerability within their job. "Rainmakers"-such as a well-known professor, well-recognized or high-earning partner, or grant-winning researcher-may feel they do not need to comply with the rules that govern other employees (Sepler 2015) and may not be disciplined if accused of sexual harassment or assault (Feldblum and Lipnic 2016).

These structural risk factors often intersect and are exacerbated by racism, discrimination, and harassment on the basis of age, disability, or national origin.[5] In addition, working in low-wage jobs itself can entail a higher risk of harassment (Sepler 2015). Low-wage work is more likely to take place in smaller, less formalized workplaces without official complaints mechanisms. Earning low wages may also make it more difficult for a worker to leave a job, or to risk losing it by making a complaint.

Sexual harassment and assault can affect individuals in a number of ways, including their mental and physical health, finances, and opportunities to advance in their careers.

* Negative effects on mental and physical health. A number of studies indicate that sexual harassment has negative mental health effects.[6] Exploratory research on the intersection of racial and sexual harassment suggests that harassment can lead to depression; one study reported that one in ten women who experienced harassment had such severe symptoms that they met the definition of PTSD (Dansky and Kilpatrick 1997). These effects can last for many years after the harassment (Dansky and Kilpatrick 1997; Houle et al. 2011). Even when relatively infrequent and less severe, harassment can have significant negative effects on psychological well-being and work behaviors (Schneider, Swan, and Fitzgerald 1997). In addition to negative mental health effects, researchers have found higher risks of long-term physical health problems in response to repeated, long-term gender-based harassment (Schneider, Tomaka, and Palacios 2001). Harassment can also lead to increased risks of workplace accidents by leaving workers distracted while working in a dangerous job (Sugerman 2018). These negative effects can often lead to significant costs for both mental and physical health services.

* Reduced opportunities for on-the-job learning and advancement. In many occupations, becoming a skilled worker and advancing in one's profession depends on on-the-job instruction and mentorship of more experienced workers. Harassment can restrict women's access to such learning opportunities (Hegewisch, Deitch, and Murphy 2011; Sugerman 2018). For women in the academic sciences, engineering, and medicine, a recent study found that harassment affects their career advancement by leading them to give up tenure opportunities, drop out of major research projects, or step down from leadership opportunities to avoid the perpetrator (National Academy of Sciences 2018).

* Forced job change, unemployment, and abandonment of well-paying careers. Unemployment is a concern for some women who feel they must leave a job due to sexual harassment before finding another job opportunity ( The Nation 2018). A recent study finds a high correlation between harassment and job change: eight in ten women who experienced sexual harassment began a new job within two years after experiencing harassment (compared with just over half of other working women). The study found considerable financial stress as a result of such job change, highlighting likely long-term consequences of harassment for earnings and career attainment. Harassment contributed to financial strain even when women were able to find work soon after leaving their previous employment (McLaughlin, Uggen, and Blackstone 2017). As a result of harassment, some women may leave their field entirely (National Academy of Sciences 2018).

Individual financial costs of sexual harassment vary depending on the targets' occupations and career trajectories-those in higher-paying occupations will lose more in wages than those in lower-paying occupations. The impact of sexual harassment, however, is significant no matter the amount of the wages lost: both those with high and low incomes may rely on this money to meet basic needs and achieve economic security.
Sexual Harassment Costs to Companies
Workplace harassment can result in substantial costs to companies, including legal costs if there are formal charges of harassment, costs related to employee turnover, and costs related to lower productivity from increased absences, lower motivation and commitment, and team disruption. While there are no recent estimates of the business costs of sexual harassment, earlier studies suggest these costs are substantial. Some of the economic burden of sexual harassment comes out of taxpayers' pockets. An estimate based on a 1988 study of the costs of sexual harassment in the U.S. Army reported annual costs of $250 million, which would be much higher in 2018 dollars (Faley et al. 1999). A U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board study from the early 1990s estimated the economic costs of sexual harassment to federal government workplaces over a two-year period at $327 million (U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board 1995).

* Legal costs. High profile sexual harassment cases highlight the potential legal costs of tolerating harassment for employers ( Fortune 2017). Typically, the amount of financial payouts in settlements is kept confidential, making it difficult to reliably estimate total legal costs related to harassment. The EEOC, which publishes all financial settlements it reaches on behalf of employees, in FY 2017 gained $46.3 million in monetary benefits for employees in relation to sexual harassment charges (U.S. EEOC 2018). These costs likely substantially underestimate the actual payouts made by employers in response to sexual harassment charges because the EEOC litigates only a small number of all charges it receives (Rutherglen 2015).

* Employee turnover. Research shows that sexual harassment in the workplace can increase employee turnover (Chan et al. 2008; Fitzgerald et al. 1997; Sims, Drasgow, and Fitzgerald 2005; and Purl, Hall, and Griffeth 2016). In their study of the relationship between sexual harassment and women's career attainment, McLaughlin, Uggen, and Blackstone (2017) found that targets of harassment were 6.5 times as likely as non-targets to change jobs. Costs related to employee turnover constitute the largest economic cost of sexual harassment, considerably higher than costs related to litigation (Merken and Shah 2014). Replacing an employee can be very expensive; a meta-analysis of case studies of the cost of employee turnover estimated average costs of 16 to 20 percent of an employee's annual salary, rising to up to 213 percent of salary for experienced managerial and professional staff (Boushey and Glynn 2012).

* Increased Absences. An analysis The 2010 National Health Interview Survey found that those who reported having been harassed or bullied at work in the previous year were 1.7 times more likely to have had at least two weeks off work than those who had not (Khubchandani, and Price 2015). A 2016 S. Merit Systems Protection Board study (2018) found that close to one in six employees who experienced sexual harassment took sick or annual leave following their harassment.

* Reduced productivity. There is substantial research to show that workplace sexual harassment is associated with reduced motivation and commitment, as well as lower job satisfaction and withdrawal.[7] The negative effects of sexual harassment are not limited to the targets and can also affect those who witness or hear about harassment, and reduce both individual and team performance. One study of 27 teams at a food services organization found that sexual hostility-a form of sexual harassment that consists of explicitly sexual verbal and nonverbal behaviors that are insulting-is damaging for team processes and performance (Raver and Gelfand 2005). Based on their meta-analysis of research on the antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment, Willness et al. estimate an average cost through lost productivity of $22,500[8] per person working in a team affected by harassment (Willness et al. 2007).

Providing resources and training and the development of new tools to prevent and address workplace sexual harassment and assault are critical to making workplaces safer for all workers and capture resulting productivity gains.

* The EEOC recommends the following interventions to help address sexual harassment and assault in the workplace:

* Employers should conduct assessments for the risk factors associated with sexual harassment and assault and conduct climate surveys to assess the extent to which harassment is a problem within their organization;

* Employers should adopt and maintain comprehensive anti-harassment policies, communicate the policies to employees frequently, offer multi-faceted reporting procedures, and "test" their reporting systems to determine their functionality;

* Employers should ensure that discipline for perpetrators of workplace harassment is prompt, consistent, and proportionate to the severity of the circumstance;

* Employers should train middle-management and supervisors on how to respond effectively to observed instances of sexual harassment;

* Employers should include workplace civility training and bystander intervention training;

* Labor unions should ensure that their own policies and reporting systems meet the same standards as employer systems;

* Researchers should assess the impact of workplace trainings on reducing the level of sexual harassment in the workplace;

* The federal government should conduct additional research, including developing and fielding new polls and/or adding questions to existing surveys on sexual harassment and assault, through agencies such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Office of Personnel Management.

* Many resources and trainings are available to those who wish to prevent sexual harassment and assault at work. Promising examples include bystander intervention trainings such as "Green Dot" (Alteristic 2018), and the new EEOC Respectful Workplaces training (U.S. EEOC 2017). In addition, worker-led efforts like the "Hands Off, Pants On" initiative by union hotel workers (United Here Local 1 2018) or practices implemented by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (2018), are showing how stakeholders can work together to prevent harassment.
References
Alteristic. 2018. "Green Dot." < https://alteristic.org/services/green-dot/> (accessed August 28, 2018).

Bauer, Mary, and Monica Ramirez. 2010. "Injustice on Our Plates: Immigrant Women in the U.S. Food Industry." Southern Poverty Law Center. < http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/injustice-on-our-plates> (accessed September 14, 2018).

Boushey, Heather, and Sarah Jane Glynn. 2012. "There Are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees." Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. < https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/16084443/CostofTurnover0815.pdf> (accessed July 3, 2018).

Burnham, Linda, and Nik Theodore. 2012. Home Economics: The Invisible and Unregulated World of Domestic Work. National Domestic Workers Alliance Center for Urban Economic Development: University of Illinois at Chicago Data Center. < http://www.idwfed.org/en/resources/home-economics-the-invisible-and-unregulated-world-of-domestic-work/@@display-file/attachment_1> (accessed August 8, 2018).

Chan, Darius K-S, Suk Yee Chow, Chun Bun Lam, and Shu Fai Cheung. 2008. "Examining the Job-Related, Psychological, and Physical Outcomes of Workplace Sexual Harassment: A Meta-Analytic Review." Psychology of Women Quarterly 32(4): 362-76. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00451.x.

Coalition of the Immokalee Workers. 2018. "A Movement, not a Moment: Lessons from the Fair Food Program for the Growing Fight against Sexual Harassment and Assault in the Workplace." < http://ciw-online.org/blog/2018/01/in-these-times-sexual-harassment/> (accessed September 19, 2018).

Cortina, Lilith M. and Jennifer L. Berdahal. 2008. "Sexual Harassment in Organizations: A Decade of Research in Review." In The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Behavior: Volume 1 - Micro Approaches, eds. Julian Barling and Cary L. Cooper, 469-497. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Dansky, Bonnie S., and Dean G. Kilpatrick. 1997. "Effects of Sexual Harassment." In Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research, and Treatment, edited by W. O'Donohue, 152-74. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Durana, Alieza, Amanda Lenhart, Roselyn Miller, Brigid Schulte, and Elizabeth Weingarten. 2018. Sexual Harassment: A Severe and Pervasive Problem. Washington, DC: New America Foundation. < https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/sexual-harassment-severe-and-pervasive-problem/summary-of-findings> (accessed September 26, 2018).

Faley, Robert H., Deborah Erdos, Knapp, Gary A. Kustis and Cathy L. Z. Dubois. 1999. "Estimating the Organizational Costs of Sexual Harassment: The Case of the U.S. Army." Journal of Business and Psychology 13(4) 461-484.

Feldblum, Chai and Victoria Lipnic. 2016. EEOC Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace, Report of Co-Chairs Chai R. Feldblum and Victoria A. Lipnic. < https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/task_force/harassment/> (accessed September 18, 2018).

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This project was supported by Grant No. 2015-SI-AX-K407 awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) conducts and communicates research to inspire public dialogue, shape policy, and improve the lives and opportunities of women of diverse backgrounds, circumstances, and experiences. The Institute's research strives to give voice to the needs of women from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds across the income spectrum and to ensure that their perspectives enter the public debate on ending discrimination and inequality, improving opportunity, and increasing economic security for women and families. The Institute works with policymakers, scholars, and public interest groups to design, execute, and disseminate research and to build a diverse network of individuals and organizations that conduct and use women-oriented policy research. IWPR's work is supported by foundation grants, government grants and contracts, donations from individuals, and contributions from organizations and corporations. IWPR is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that also works in affiliation with the Program on Gender Analysis in Economics at American University.
For more information on IWPR reports, please visit www.iwpr.org.

[1] See the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund ( https://nwlc.org/times-up-legal-defense-fund/) or the EEOC ( https://www.eeoc.gov/federal/fed_employees/filing_complaint.cfm) for information on how to file a sexual harassment or assault complaint.

[2] Sex-based harassment is harassment that makes it clear that a woman is not welcome in a job, but is not sexual in nature.

[3] The Select Task Force was comprised of 16 members from around the country from various backgrounds tasked with collecting and reviewing witness testimony and public comments to gain insight on workplace harassment in order to identify ways to prevent it. The work culminated with a report released in June 2016 (see Feldblum and Lipnic 2016).

[4] For a review of the research, see Durana et al. 2018; Feldblum and Lipnic 2016; and Khubchandani, and Price 2015.

[5] See also Durana et al. 2018.

[6] For reviews, see Fitzgerald and Cortina 2017 and Schneider, Swan, and Fitzgerald 1997.

[7] For literature reviews see Willness et al. 2007 and Sojo, Wood, and Genat 2016.

[8] Assuming this was calculated using 2007 dollars, this would now be $27,345 per person in 2018 dollars.

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Sexual Harassment and Assault at Work: Understanding the Costs | Institute for Women's Policy Research

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In recent months, the #MeToo movement has raised the visibility of sexual harassment and assault at work and the personal toll it takes on women's lives to unprecedented levels. Workplace sexual harassment is widespread, with studies estimating that anywhere from almost a quarter to more than eight in ten women experience it in their lifetimes ...

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A restaurant patron fondles a server, commenting “I left you a little something extra for that."

There are many types of abuse in the workplace, but this is most common in Waiting and service jobs. Waiters and waitresses have to deal with this kind of treatment because they have to smile and treat the customer Kindly or else they may get fired. For some, that's their livelihood.

"According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, an estimated 91% of the victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and 9% are male."

"The National Institute of Justice reported that in 8 out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator."

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Workplaces Respond to Domestic and Sexual Violence

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The Facts on Gender-Based Workplace Violence

A customer threatens to assault a retail clerk.

An employee's ex-boyfriend incessantly calls and visits the employee during shifts.

An employee is terminated and returns to a worksite with a gun.

A restaurant patron fondles a server, commenting "I left you a little something extra for that."

A patient strikes a nurse with a bedside lamp.

Upon receiving divorce papers, a man shows up to his wife's office and kills her and several of her co-workers.

These are just a few examples of the wide array of acts that fall within the definition of workplace violence: any violent act or threat of violence directed towards a person at work or on duty. Workplace violence can range from threatening language to homicide, and can be perpetrated by co-workers, supervisors, customers, clients, patients, intimate partners, and any other person who commits or threatens to commit a violent act at a workplace.

Approximately 24% of workplace violence is related to personal relationships, which involve situations where an individual gains access to a workplace and commits a crime targeting an employee or customer who is a current or former intimate partner.

Examples include:

An employee who harasses, threatens, or stalks another employee with whom he or she had a prior intimate relationship.

A survivor of domestic violence has fled her abusive relationship and is now being followed by her abuser at work.

A supervisor sexually assaults an employee in an isolated part of a factory or farm.

The Impacts of Domestic and Sexual Violence and Stalking on Workplaces

Domestic Violence

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, four to five women on average are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends each day in the United States. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that women experience two million injuries from intimate partner violence each year.

Domestic violence can follow victims to work, spilling over into the workplace when a victim is harassed, receives threatening phone calls, is absent because of injuries or is less productive due to extreme stress. Domestic violence is a serious, recognizable and preventable problem, similar to other workplace health and safety issues that affect businesses and their bottom lines.

Prevalence

Women are much more likely than men to be victims of on-the-job intimate partner homicide. Spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends and ex-boyfriends/ex-girlfriends were responsible for the on-the-job deaths of 321 women and 38 men from 1997-2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nearly 33% of women killed in U.S. workplaces between 2003-2008 were killed by a current or former intimate partner, according to an Annals of Epidemiology publication.

According to a 2006 study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly one in four large private industry establishments (with more than 1,000 employees) reported at least one incidence of domestic violence, including threats and assaults, in the past year.

A 2005 phone survey of 1,200 full-time American employees found that 44 percent of full-time employed adults personally experienced domestic violence's effect in their workplaces, and 21 percent identified themselves as victims of intimate partner violence.

Toll on Productivity

A 2005 study using data from a national telephone survey of 8,000 women about their experiences with violence found that women experiencing physical intimate partner violence victimization reported an average of 7.2 days of work-related lost productivity and 33.9 days in productivity losses associated with household chores, child care, school, volunteer activities, and social/recreational activities.

A 2005 study of female employees in Maine who experienced domestic violence found that: 98 percent had difficulty concentrating on work tasks; 96 percent reported that domestic abuse affected their ability to perform their job duties; 87 percent received harassing phone calls at work; 78 percent reported being late to work because of abuse; and 60 percent lost their jobs due to domestic abuse.

In a 2005 telephone survey from the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, 64 percent of the respondents who identified themselves as victims of domestic violence indicated that their ability to work was affected by the violence. More than half of domestic violence victims (57 percent) said they were distracted, almost half (45 percent) feared getting discovered, and two in five were afraid of their intimate partner's unexpected visit (either by phone or in person).

Costs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the cost of intimate partner rape, physical assault and stalking totaled $5.8 billion each year for direct medical and mental health care services and lost productivity from paid work and household chores.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence is $727.8 million (in 1995 dollars), with more than 7.9 million paid workdays - the equivalent of more than 32,000 full time jobs - lost each year.

The Tennessee Economic Council on Women estimates that domestic violence costs Tennessee approximately $174 million per year. This 2006 report considers costs in lost wages, productivity, sick leave, absenteeism and costs to the medical, legal and social services systems.

Employer's Perspectives

Nearly two in three corporate executives (63 percent) surveyed by the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence say that domestic violence is a major problem in our society and more than half (55 percent) cite its harmful impact on productivity in their companies, but only 13 percent of corporate executives think their companies should address domestic violence.

Nine in ten employees (91 percent) surveyed by the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence say that domestic violence has a negative impact on their company's bottom line. Just 43 percent of corporate executives agree. Seven in ten corporate executives (71 percent) do not perceive domestic violence as a major issue at their company.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 70 percent of United States workplaces do not have a formal program or policy that addresses workplace violence. Programs or policies related to workplace violence are more prevalent among larger private establishments or governments.

Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is one of the most underreported crimes in our society, with fewer than one in six women reporting sexual violence to the police according to the National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women. The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that rape and sexual assault were reported to police at the lowest percentage (24%) when compared to other violence crimes in the workplace.

Prevalence

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, an estimated 91% of the victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and 9% are male.

If statistics include forcible rape, incapacitated rape and drug-alcohol facilitated rape, the National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women estimates that over one million women in the U.S. have had a rape experience within the past year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 5 women have been raped in their lifetime while 1 in 71 men have been raped in their lifetime.

The National Institute of Justice reported that in 8 out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance; for male victims, more than half (52.4%) reported being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger.

Costs

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, 36% of rape/sexual assault victims in 2000 lost more than 10 days of work after their victimization.

According to the National Institute of Justice, rape costs our country more than any other crime, followed by assault ($93 billion); murder ($71 billion); and drunk driving, including fatalities ($61 billion).

The National Institute of Justice estimates that employers pay almost $5 billion annually for traditional crimes of violence, including rape, assault, and murder. This estimate excludes costs related to sick leave and disability insurance costs.

Stalking

Stalking is the most prevalent form of abuse at work. It poses risks to the physical safety of victims, co-workers, and customers/clients, can lead to property damage, and can negatively affect productivity and morale. In addition, employers could be held liable if an employee uses work time and resources to engage in stalking.

Prevalence

A startling number of men and women in the United States have been victims of stalking. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 women (16.2%) and 1 in 19 men (5.2%) have been victims of stalking.

In a University of Arkansas study, over 51% of stalking victims indicated that it had occurred at least once on work premises.

Thirty five percent of the Vermont domestic violence perpetrators surveyed had contacted their partners in an abusive manner during the workday and used work resources to do so, including work phones, work vehicles, work computers, internet or email.

A 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed that 6.6 million people were victims of stalking in a one-year period.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women are nearly 3 times more likely than men to experience stalking victimization.

Although the vast majority of victims know their stalkers, stalking can occur between people who know each other, such as between a worker and an intimate (or former) partner or acquaintance, co-workers, customers/clients or it can also occur between strangers according to the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.

Intimate partner stalkers pose violent risks to their victims, according to The RECON Typology of Stalking report.

Two thirds of stalkers pursue their victims at least once per week, many daily, using more than one method, according to The RECON Typology of Stalking report.

Seventy-eight percent of stalkers use more than one means of approach, according to The RECON Typology of Stalking report.

Weapons are used to harm or threaten victims in 1 out of 5 case, according to The RECON Typology of Stalking report.

Costs

Employees may feel more fearful and less able to concentrate on work due to a threat, even if not acted upon, according to National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.

According to National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, one in 8 employed stalking victims lost some time from work for a variety of reasons including fear or concern for safety and getting a protective order.

According to National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, the amount of time lost from work ranged from less than 5 days to over 25 days or more.

According to National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, 58% of victims lost income that was not covered by unemployment insurance, paid leave, or some other source.

About 5% of employed victims reported that they had been fired from or asked to leave their jobs because of the stalking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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The Facts on Gender-Based Workplace Violence - Workplaces Respond to Domestic and Sexual Violence

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A customer threatens to assault a retail clerk. An employee's ex-boyfriend incessantly calls and visits the employee during shifts. An employee is terminated and returns to a worksite with a gun. A restaurant patron fondles a server, commenting "I left you a little something extra for that."

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While working with the article above, I found this:

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The CNBC All-America Survey found that overall 19 percent of American adults said they have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Among men, the figure was 10 percent, while among women it jumped to 27 percent.

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The CNBC All-America Survey found that overall 19 percent of American adults said they have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Among men, the figure was 10 percent, while among women it jumped to 27 percent.

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About one in five Americans reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, cutting across the population regardless of geographic location, income or political affiliation, a new survey said.

The CNBC All-America Survey found that overall 19 percent of American adults said they have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Among men, the figure was 10 percent, while among women it jumped to 27 percent.

The poll was conducted from Dec. 10 to 13 with 800 adults nationwide and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. It comes at a time when accusations of sexual harassment in business, politics and the media have dominated national headlines.

By age group, 16 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds say they have been victims, compared with 25 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds. Of the women who reported being victims, 39 percent are of the baby boomer generation, 36 percent are Gen X, and 25 percent are millennials.

"An encouraging signal from this data is that there are fewer reports of this sort of behavior among younger women," said Micah Roberts, Republican pollster and partner at Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the survey along with Democratic pollster Jay Campbell of Hart Research.

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One-fifth of American adults have experienced sexual harassment at work, CNBC survey says

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About one in five Americans reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, cutting across the population regardless of geographic location, income or political affiliation, a new survey said. The CNBC All-America Survey found that overall 19 percent of American adults said they have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.

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Men who rape tend to start young, in high school or the first couple of years of college, likely crossing a line with someone they know, the research suggests.Some of these men commit one or two sexual assaults and then stop. Others — no one can yet say what portion — maintain this behavior or even pick up the pace.

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Men who rape tend to start young, in high school or the first couple of years of college, likely crossing a line with someone they know, the research suggests.Some of these men commit one or two sexual assaults and then stop. Others — no one can yet say what portion — maintain this behavior or even pick up the pace.

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The most pronounced similarities have little to do with the traditional demographic categories, like race, class and marital status. Rather, other kinds of patterns have emerged: these men begin early, studies find. They may associate with others who also commit sexual violence. They usually deny that they have raped women even as they admit to nonconsensual sex.

Clarifying these and other patterns, many researchers say, is the most realistic path toward curtailing behaviors that cause so much pain.

"If you don't really understand perpetrators, you're never going to understand sexual violence," said Sherry Hamby, editor of the journal Psychology of Violence. That may seem obvious, but she said she receives "10 papers on victims" for every one on perpetrators.

This may be partly connected to a tendency to consider sexual assault a women's issue even though men usually commit the crime. But finding the right subjects also has complicated the research.

Early studies relied heavily on convicted rapists. This skewed the data, said Neil Malamuth, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has been studying sexual aggression for decades.

Men in prison are often "generalists," he said: "They would steal your television, your watch, your car. And sometimes they steal sex."

But men who commit sexual assault, and are not imprisoned because they got away with it, are often "specialists." There is a strong chance that this is their primary criminal transgression.

More recent studies tend to rely on anonymous surveys of college students and other communities, which come with legal language assuring subjects their answers cannot be used against them. The studies avoid using terms such as "rape" and "sexual assault."

Instead, they ask subjects highly specific questions about their actions and tactics. The focus of most sexual aggression research is acknowledged nonconsensual sexual behavior. In questionnaires and in follow-up interviews, subjects are surprisingly open about ignoring consent.

Men who rape tend to start young, in high school or the first couple of years of college, likely crossing a line with someone they know, the research suggests.

Some of these men commit one or two sexual assaults and then stop. Others - no one can yet say what portion - maintain this behavior or even pick up the pace.

Antonia Abbey, a social psychologist at Wayne State University, has found that young men who expressed remorse were less likely to offend the following year, while those who blamed their victim were more likely to do it again.

One repeat offender put it this way: "I felt I was repaying her for sexually arousing me."

There is a heated debate among experts about whether there is a point at which sexual assault becomes an entrenched behavior and what percentage of assaults are committed by serial predators.

Most researchers agree that the line between the occasional and frequent offender is not so clear. The recent work of Kevin Swartout, a professor of psychology and public health at Georgia State University, suggests that low-frequency offenders are more common on college campuses than previously thought.

"It's a matter of degree, more like dosage," said Mary P. Koss, a professor of public health at the University of Arizona, who is credited with coining the term "date rape."

Dosage of what? Certain factors - researchers call them "risk factors" while acknowledging that these men are nonetheless responsible for their actions - have an outsize presence among those who commit sexual assaults.

Heavy drinking, perceived pressure to have sex, a belief in "rape myths" - such as the idea that no means yes - are all risk factors among men who have committed sexual assault. A peer group that uses hostile language to describe women is another one.

Yet there also seem to be personal attributes that have a mediating effect on these factors. Men who are highly aroused by rape porn - another risk factor - are less likely to attempt sexual assault if they score highly on measures of empathy, Dr. Malamuth has found.

Narcissism seems to work in the other direction, magnifying odds that men will commit sexual assault and rape.

What about the idea that rape is about power over women? Some experts feel that research into hostile attitudes toward women supports this idea.

In general, however, researchers say motives are varied and difficult to quantify.

Dr. Malamuth has noticed that repeat offenders often tell similar stories of rejection in high school and of looking on as "jocks and the football players got all the attractive women."

As these once-unpopular, often narcissistic men become more successful, he suspects that "getting back at these women, having power over them, seems to have become a source of arousal."

Most subjects in these studies freely acknowledge nonconsensual sex - but that does not mean they consider it real rape. Researchers encounter this contradiction again and again.

Asked "if they had penetrated against their consent," said Dr. Koss, the subject will say yes. Asked if he did "something like rape," the answer is almost always no.

Studies of incarcerated rapists - even men who admit to keeping sex slaves in conflict zones - find a similar disconnect. It's not that they deny sexual assault happens; it's just that the crime is committed by the monster over there.

And this is not a sign that the respondents are psychopaths, said Dr. Hamby, the journal editor. It's a sign that they are human. "No one thinks they are a bad guy," she said.

Indeed, experts note one last trait shared by men who have raped: they do not believe they are the problem.

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The most pronounced similarities have little to do with the traditional demographic categories, like race, class and marital status. Rather, other kinds of patterns have emerged: these men begin early, studies find. They may associate with others who also commit sexual violence. They usually deny that they have raped women even as they admit to nonconsensual sex.