“i Did Whatever They Wanted Me to Do”: a Qualitative Secondary Analysis Using Reproductive Justice to Explore Sexual Violence Among Justice-involved Latina Mothers

Background: One in three women experience sexual violence during their lifetime; however, little is known about this phenomenon with respect to justice-involved Latina mothers. Using the reproductive justice framework as a theoretical lens, we examined sexual violence in Latina mothers who had experienced incarceration and were thus involved in the justice system.Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a qualitative data set. The reproductive justice framework provided a theoretical lens for examining the women’s rights to bodily autonomy, to have or not have children, and to live in safe, sustainable environments given the intersection of incarceration and sexual violence.Results: Women (N = 12) recounted their experiences of sexual violence after having been incarcerated. Incarceration and resulting sexual violence led to discrimination, limited bodily autonomy, sexual exploitation, substance use, depression, anxiety, re-traumatization, recidivism, underreporting of violence, underutilization of healthcare resources, strained relationships, family separation, and unsafe environments. Conclusions: More research is needed to understand the social, economic, and political contexts that perpetuate sexual violence among justice-involved women. Universal healthcare, participatory research, changing cultural mindsets, decriminalization of sex work, and more comprehensive tracking and prosecution of sexual predators may be key to ending sexual violence in justice-involved mothers.

Reclaiming the Classics for a Diverse and Global World Through OER

In the 2019–20 academic year, I redesigned a course on the classics to make both the texts and the context in which they were taught more accessible for and relevant to the predominantly female students of Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame. The course was re-centered on the dialogue between the ever-evolving and diverse cultures within Greece and the Roman empire and surrounding regions such as Egypt, Ethiopia, and Persia; issues caused by slavery and economic inequality; conceptions of gender roles and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and migration and citizenship; the troubling appropriation of classical motifs and texts by fascist groups in the twentieth century and some alt-right groups and sexual predators in the twenty-first century; and on recent initiatives meant to demonstrate the diversity of both Greek and Roman cultures through documentary, artistic, and archaeological evidence (particularly in the digital humanities and in museums and libraries). I also wanted to make the course close to zero cost for students and to shift to digital texts which lent themselves to interactivity and social scholarship. Our librarian, Catherine Pellegrino, obtained multi-user e-books for modern reinterpretations of classical works still in copyright. A LibreTexts grant enabled the co-authors of this article—the course instructor (and lead author) and two paid student researchers—and a team of summer-employed student collaborators to edit, footnote, and create critical introductions and student activities for various key texts for the course. Many of these texts are now hosted on the LibreTexts OER platform. Beta versions of enriched OER texts and activities were user tested in a synchronous hybrid virtual/physical classroom of twenty-five students, who were taking the course (HUST 292) in the fall semester of 2020.

»Sexual Predators« – die Monster unserer Zeit?

Sexualstraftäter – die Teufel der Moderne? In Filmen und Fernsehserien treten sie uns als entfesselte Bestien gegenüber, die ihren dämonischen Trieben freien Lauf lassen. Die Berichterstattung zu Sexualstraftaten sowie die Reaktionen der Rezipienten sind häufig bestimmt von Dämonisierung und Dehumanisierung der Täter. Dieses Bild verzerrt soziale und seelische Realitäten. Ferner führt dies zu einer überproportionalen Kriminalitätsfurcht, welche sich auch in populistischen kriminalpolitischen Forderungen niederschlägt. Bereitet das Bild der Monster die Regression zu archaischen Strafvorstellungen vor? Welchen Anteil trägt hierbei unsere eigene sadistische Straflust? Diesen und verwandten Fragen versucht der Text nachzugehen. An der Hypertrophie der aggressiven Komponente der Reaktionen sind projektive Mechanismen beteiligt, welche mit Abwehr und Kanalisierung abgewehrter Triebstrebungen verbunden sind; so die hier vertretene Annahme.

Sexual Predators in Contest for Public Office: How the American Electorate Responds to News of Allegations of Candidates Committing Sexual Assault and Harassment

Candidate characteristics have an important impact on voter choice, and scandals are found to negatively impact a political campaign. Yet the literature, with its focus on scandals such as financial and (consensual) affairs, has failed to look into how allegations of sexual assault and harassment may impact electability. This study analyzes the effect that allegations of sexual assault or harassment have on the electoral success of American politicians. Using an original survey experiment, we find that, on average, American citizens are less likely to support a candidate accused of sexual assault or sexual harassment. However, not all voters do so to the same magnitude. We find that Democrats are significantly less likely to support a candidate that faces such allegations. Republicans do not strongly penalize candidates facing allegations of sexual assault or harassment, especially if the candidate is identified as a Republican. We analyze open-ended survey responses to offer an explanation for such variation: a propensity to disbelieve women who speak out about sexual assault and harassment explains variations in why some voters may not change their opinion of a candidate based on an allegation.

FLEXIBILITY OF DIGITAL MEDIA FOR MANIPULATIVE ACTIVITIES OF SEXUAL PREDATORS

The Internet has undoubtedly become a dynamic and sublime tool of communication. It gives us the freedom to create and maintain contacts with individuals and groups from all over the world, to cooperate, socialize and exchange information, content and experiences. At the same time, nowadays it is almost impossible to imagine an internet business or presentation without a presence on social networks / media. These are online web services that open unlimited spaces for users for various forms of communication and personal promotion. Some of the most popular social networks that are especially receptive to most users from global spaces are: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, TikTok… By the way, on most social networks, the presence is free. Digital media have the capacity to inform visitors in the most efficient and practical way about important events, current campaigns and innovations related to the business, products or services offered, with the quality content of the texts they manifest. Also, their significant impact is reflected in the domain of education and / or providing certain advice. In addition to colossal achievements and obvious positive sides, with the advent of the Internet and digital media, sexual predators have been given a new field / playground, in which to establish contacts with others (often with children). In this digital environment, they manipulatively lurk and recruit potential victims for various forms of abuse and sexual exploitation.

The Celebrity Icon Mask: The Multi-Institutional Masking of Sir Jimmy Savile

The aim of this article is to develop the concepts of masks and masking to interrogate the role of institutions in the co-production of ‘untouchable’ celebrity icon status. The empirical focus is the multi-institutional masking of Sir Jimmy Savile OBE KCSG. For decades, Savile was celebrated as one of the UK’s best-loved celebrity icons. One year after his death, he was exposed as a serial sexual predator. We argue that the largely compartmentalised official reports on Savile have presented a partial analysis. They have emphasised the importance of Savile’s celebrity status while taking it for granted, downplayed the significance of his moral standing in British society, and marginalised the proactive, enabling role of the BBC, the NHS and the British establishment. However manipulative the individual, we propose that it was Savile’s cumulative multi-institutional masking as celebrity personality (the BBC), celanthropist (the NHS) and, ultimately, celebrity icon (the British establishment) that co-produced his ‘untouchable’ status and enabled him for decades to deflect and discredit rumour, gossip and allegations about his sexually predatory behaviour. We conclude by reflecting on the ‘researchability’ of powerful elites, and by suggesting how our analysis might inform further research into the power dynamics that have co-produced the ‘untouchability’ of other celebrities subsequently exposed as serial sexual predators.

Brave women sound the alarm – representations of men and women in the Swedish media coverage of #MeToo

In autumn 2017 in Sweden, the #MeToo movement and sexual assault became a focus of broad debate. Swedish media coverage of the movement was centred around the many petitions made by anonymous groups of women to illuminate the extent of the problem of sexual assault, as well as a few cases of accusations against well-known and powerful men in both the culture and media industries. In order to elicit common representations of men and their female accusers, this study applies critical discourse analysis (CDA) to news media coverage and Facebook comments of three of those accused men: TV personality Martin Timell, journalist Fredrik Virtanen and culture personality Jean-Claude Arnault. The results indicate that representations of women as both witnesses and heroines work to reinforce notions of female responsibility as a means to halt sexual assault, while representations of men as sexual predators build on demarcations of illegal and mere misogynistic or “bad” behaviour, which in turn reinforce notions of male victimhood. These representations point to legal discourse as hegemonic, as it seems to limit the discussion and only present individual solutions, such as women bearing witness, to the structural problem of sexual assault. Simultaneously, the results indicate that the #MeToo movement and other feminist discourse have also had an effect on news media representations of sexual assault by broadening the concept beyond the consent/rape dichotomy.

Brave women sound the alarm – representations of men and women in the Swedish media coverage of #MeToo

In autumn 2017 in Sweden, the #MeToo movement and sexual assault became a focus of broad debate. Swedish media coverage of the movement was centred around the many petitions made by anonymous groups of women to illuminate the extent of the problem of sexual assault, as well as a few cases of accusations against well-known and powerful men in both the culture and media industries. In order to elicit common representations of men and their female accusers, this study applies critical discourse analysis (CDA) to news media coverage and Facebook comments of three of those accused men: TV personality Martin Timell, journalist Fredrik Virtanen and culture personality Jean-Claude Arnault. The results indicate that representations of women as both witnesses and heroines work to reinforce notions of female responsibility as a means to halt sexual assault, while representations of men as sexual predators build on demarcations of illegal and mere misogynistic or “bad” behaviour, which in turn reinforce notions of male victimhood. These representations point to legal discourse as hegemonic, as it seems to limit the discussion and only present individual solutions, such as women bearing witness, to the structural problem of sexual assault. Simultaneously, the results indicate that the #MeToo movement and other feminist discourse have also had an effect on news media representations of sexual assault by broadening the concept beyond the consent/rape dichotomy.

A Routine Activity Analysis of Selected Rape Cases during COVID-19 Lockdown in Nigeria

Using five popular rape victimisation cases which occurred during COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria, this paper shows how the mastery of routines of rape victims by sexual predators enhanced the success of rape victimisation. Elements of routine activity theory such as motivated offender, attractive targets and absence of capable guardianship is used to analyse each case to signpost and underscore the importance and centrality of active capable guardianship to dislodge and neutralise rape offenders’ routine mastery around attractive targets. The paper recommends mounting capable guardianship to checking growing menace of rape in Nigeria. Attractive target should eliminate risky routines and poisonous relationship which could enhance their chances of sexual violation.