Viewing entries tagged
rape

Sexual Abuse and Insufficient Labels

Listen to our eye opening discussion on the rhetoric and language around women who have experienced sexual abuse. We specifically discuss the dichotomy of the labels "victim" versus "survivor" and how these terms are insufficient to describe the experience of many women who have experienced sexual abuse. We also acknowledge the implicit values attached to these labels and what that means to the women as they process the experience and try to move on. In researcher Rebecca Murphy-Keith's research, she uncovered a third term which some women preferred to use: thriver. Listen to us discuss the idea of post-trauma growth and overcoming.

Special Episode: Contraception, Rape & a Bad Week for Women

In this special episode, we discuss what was a bad week for the United States after facing several back-to-back tragedies including hurricanes and a mass shooting. We focus on four important policy changes that were very quietly implemented by the Trump administration over the last week while media attention was diverted to these tragedies. All of these policy changes are relevant and important to the health, safety, and rights of women, girls, and families. All of these policy changes will be damaging in some way, whether at a large or small scale, big or small dollar amount, to women and girls. The common thread of these policies seems to be that they take away agency of women - control of one's own body and the ability to make decisions that will impact you on a deeply and intimately personal level. Listen for my informative interview with Dr. Colleen Begley, an activist and OB/GYN, as we discuss and dispel mythology around contraception and what you should be doing right now to protect yourself from the potential impact of these policies.

RECUT: Living in Conflict Zones: Women, Children & Survival

Women and children living in conflict zones are among the most disenfranchised individuals in our world today. They subsist in the midst of violence, chaos, failed states, refugee camps, crumbling systems and destroyed infrastructure. Despite this, every day women try to hold their families together. Feed their children. Care for the young, the elderly, the sick. They give birth, and often they die during childbirth. And they are also victims.

Gender-based violence in conflict zones has become not just a reality, but a tactic of war. Women and children are the most frequent victims because of their status in society, and their gender. Wide scale and systematic rape has been deployed in many conflicts, and survivors are sometimes blamed.

In this episode I have a fascinating discussion with Annie Agle about women and children living in conflict zones, the difficulties they face, and the shocking ways they are victimized by perpetrators as well as their culture sometimes.

Human Trafficking - Part 2

In this second part of my two part series on human trafficking, I begin with a quick recap of part one through a discussion with my guest co-host, John Philbeck, about highlights from part one. I continue my discussion with Dr. Karrin Anderson, a Professor from Colorado State University and a researcher and activist in human trafficking. We discuss how trafficking perpetrators avoid detection by law enforcement and are able to evade getting caught. We also discuss the steps that activists and astute bystanders can take to get involved in watching for signs of human trafficking, as well as becoming an activist against this horrific crime.

 

Living in Conflict Zones: Women, Children & Survival

Women and children living in conflict zones are among the most disenfranchised individuals in our world today. They subsist in the midst of violence, chaos, failed states, refugee camps, crumbling systems and destroyed infrastructure. Despite this, every day women try to hold their families together. Feed their children. Care for the young, the elderly, the sick. They give birth, and often they die during childbirth. And they are also victims.

Gender-based violence in conflict zones has become not just a reality, but a tactic of war. Women and children are the most frequent victims because of their status in society, and their gender. Wide scale and systematic rape has been deployed in many conflicts, and survivors are sometimes blamed.

In this episode I have a fascinating discussion with Annie Agle about women and children living in conflict zones, the difficulties they face, and the shocking ways they are victimized by perpetrators as well as their culture sometimes.

Becoming a Lighthouse: Men & Domestic Violence Prevention

Men are the aggressors in 90% of intimate partner violence cases. Many cases go unreported, and many behaviors that are in fact abusive are not considered when we discuss domestic violence, like emotional abuse. Research tells us that abuse tends to run in families, or get passed down over generations. But we know it doesn't always, and it doesn't have to.

What can we do to prevent men from becoming perpetrators of domestic violence? And what, in particular, can men do? We knew there are certain people in the lives of men and boys, such as coaches, who can be positive influencers in helping them develop healthy and respectful relationships with women.

In my interview for this episode, I talk with one man about his unexpected journey into activism trying to involve men in the fight against intimate partner violence. We discuss the protective factors that can prevent a boy or man from becoming an abuser, as well as things that parents can do to help boys become young men who are able to engage in healthy and respectful relationships.

 

Have We Solved Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, has been decreasing over the last decade. Some of this success is attributed to the Violence Against Women Act, which was drafted by then Sen. Joe Biden, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994. The Act established the Office of Violence on Women within the Department of Justice. At long last there was a central federal authority with resources and a central mission to stop this violent but silent epidemic.

 

So we have the Violence Against Women Act, and some success in bending the curve of violence. However that doesn’t mean that the issue is gone and we can move on. Far from it. In my interview with the Washington, DC office Director of Futures Without Violence, Kiersten Stewart, we discuss that we have seen progress in some groups, but the good news is mixed. Young people still experience high rates of violence which often goes unreported, or when it is reported, is not taken as seriously as it perhaps should be. The importance of involving men and boys in the prevention of interpersonal violence is discussed. We also discuss the warning signs for a violent or abusive relationship, and how to approach someone you suspect is in a dangerous relationship.

 

In this episode, we highlight the work of Lady Gaga in drawing attention to the issue of rape and violence on college campuses.