Last week, several women accused a well-known man of raping them, including an ex-girlfriend and former co-workers. Witnesses to some of these assaults stepped forward and confirmed the accounts. Some of the assaults may even have been captured on camera. Yet many questioned whether these women could even be raped. Why? Because all of the accusers and the alleged perpetrator are adult film stars, leading many to conclude that these women could not have been raped. The acc

In November 2013, a campaign was launched to fund the manufacture of a new type of garment designed to prevent rape. Recently, the videos promoting this “anti-rape underwear” have begun to recirculate on social media, with many people proclaiming it to be an excellent idea. The underwear consists of webbing and cut-resistant straps to prevent an attacker from removing the garment, and looks like tiny workout shorts. But while the inventors may have great skill and ingenuity

Last week, we posted a graphic on our Facebook page that quickly went viral — at the time of this writing, it had been viewed by over 840,000 people. With so many people seeing this picture, it was almost inevitable that we would get a wide range of opinions in the comments….and we did. Many were fantastic, and spot-on in their assessment of what this meme meant. Others completely missed the point, and did exactly what the photo was telling them not to do — blame the victi

In recent weeks, it’s become apparent to just about everybody that Bill Cosby is a serial rapist. The first known rape occurred in the 1960’s. By 2015, 46 women had publicly accused him of rape. Many people didn’t want to believe that any of this could be true until 3 weeks ago, when Cosby’s deposition in a 2005 case became public — including his shocking admission that he obtained drugs to give to women that — in his words — he wanted to have sex with (the reality is that a

Last week, we learned that Josh Duggar (one of the stars of the television show 19 & Counting) had molested five young girls, including 4 of his sisters, when he was a teenager. The outrage and backlash was immediate, with Josh resigning from the Family Research Council and TLC suspending the show. But many people also leapt to the family’s defense, claiming that he was just a teenager and that it was a youthful error and he deserves forgiveness. Josh has admitted these al

This originally was published in LNP on Sunday, November 23, 2014 As allegations against Bill Cosby resurface and new alleged victims come forward, it is important to remember why victims of sexual assault, especially when victimized by celebrities, wait to report, if they choose to report at all. Sexual assault can cause intense feelings of humiliation. Denial, shame and self-doubt are all typical psychological byproducts of being abused by someone you trusted. Victims often

Campus sexual assault has been a hot topic in the news over the past year, between student protests, high profile cases and the formation of a White House special commission to address the issue. Across the country, colleges and universities are revamping their sexual assault policies, holding forums on sexual assault, and encouraging bystander intervention programs. But for all of the publicity surrounding this subject, it appears that many young adults’ attitudes about se

The NFL has been all over the news lately, and NOT because of football. Instead, the NFL is once again facing serious public outrage over its handling of Ray Rice’s violent assault of his then-fiancée (now wife) Janay Palmer. The most recent headlines have made it clear that it isn’t just the NFL that has a problem with domestic violence — it’s our culture as a whole. A quick recap: this incident began in February 2014, when a video emerged of Rice dragging his unconscious

Singer Cee-Lo Green recently made headlines after pleading no contest to supplying a woman with Ecstasy; these charges arose from an incident where the same woman claimed that he spiked her drink, and that she woke up naked in his room. She immediately went to the police, and recorded a phone call with the singer where he admitted giving her the drug. Green maintains that the sex was consensual. But it was what Cee-Lo did after his plea deal that really raised eyebrows: he

Sexual violence can happen to anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. The one thing that all victims of sexual assault have in common? It’s not their fault. Ever. Rape is a crime of violence and control. A victim does not provoke it by dressing in a certain way, drinking or using drugs, or being on a date with the perpetrator. The only person at fault for a rape is the rapist him or herself. A lack of injuries or a fail