Sexual violence reproduces inequalities of gender, race/ethnicity, class, age, sexuality, ability status, citizenship status, and nationality. Yet its study has been relegated to the margins of our discipline, with consequences for knowledge about the reproduction of social inequality. We begin with an overview of key insights about sexual violence elaborated by feminists, critical race scholars, and activists. This research leads us to conceptualize sexual violence as a mechanism of inequality that is made more effective by the silencing of its usage. We trace legal and cultural contestations over the definition of sexual violence in the United States. We consider the challenges of narrating sexual violence and review how the narrow focus on gender by some anti–sexual violence activism fails women of color and other marginalized groups. We conclude by interrogating the sociological silence on sexual violence.
How did instructors design their sociology courses for remote teaching during the 2020–2021 academic year, and what challenges did they face in teaching those courses? To answer these questions, we surveyed lead instructors and graduate teaching assistants (n = 77) in the Sociology Department at the University of Michigan, supplemented by interviews with students and our experiences as remote course consultants. Through this case study, we found that instructors cited increased workload and lack of connection as challenges with remote teaching, in addition to pandemic-related struggles. Most instructors reported using either synchronous or a mix of synchronous and asynchronous instruction in course design, incorporating both formative and summative assessments, and implementing communication and community-building strategies to establish connections with and among students. We argue that these challenges and course designs highlight the importance of care-informed pedagogy to not only remote teaching in 2020–2021 but also sociology instruction in general.
To reduce campus sexual violence, administrators must work with faculty experts in structural inequalities to develop, implement, evaluate, and share structural-level policy interventions.
Statement of purposeCampus sexual assault is a significant public health issue, given its alarming prevalence and association with adverse physical, psychological, and economic outcomes. While many school-based sexual assault prevention intervention programs currently exist, few have strong empirical support in college settings. Consequently, there is a pressing need for formative research with undergraduate students to shape the development of relevant and effective, multi-pronged approaches for preventing sexual assault on college campuses.MethodsFull-time undergraduate sophomores at the University of Michigan were recruited via two registrar emails and campus flyers to participate in audio-recorded, semi-structured, one-on-one interviews (n=19) in June-November 2016. Participants were asked to provide feedback about desirable characteristics of sexual assault prevention programming, including intervention content, program format, and delivery mechanism. Interview audio files were transcribed and codes were generated using thematic analysis. Two trained Research Assistants (RAs) independently coded each theme using NVivo 11. Inter-coder reliability was assessed and coding discrepancies were resolved by a third coder.ResultsParticipant demographics (52.6% male, 57.96% White/Not Hispanic) resemble campus enrollment statistics. Further, 68.4% of participants reported lifetime sexual activity, and 42.1% were Greek Life-affiliated. Preliminary findings suggest that peer-based programming administered in-person to individuals or small, mixed-gender groups of unfamiliar students is more acceptable to undergraduates than other intervention formats (e.g., delivered in classes). Participants emphasised the importance of a forum where students can talk openly and seriously about sexual assault. Peer survivor testimonies and skits were mentioned as potentially effective ways to deliver content.Conclusions/SignificanceAs part of their sexual assault prevention education, college students welcome opportunities for discussions led by relatable peers who understand the dynamics of campus life. Our findings warrant future studies examining the effectiveness of campus-based, discussion-oriented sexual assault prevention intervention programs.
Book Reviews 331embrace awkwardness, which is necessary for one to be visible on their own terms. The curtain comes down on the "show" with Meiver De la Cruz's interview with Alexandre Paulikevitch, a Lebanese genderqueer activist and belly dancer. When asked why he dances, Paulikevitch stated that "Beyond the policing of our bodies by society, [by] the moral police and by the law (and what is imposed by law on us), we are resisting the lack of freedom, and the lack of possibilities to exist and think" (p. 205).In "After," the volume's final section, the reader is directed to consider how to remember, reminisce, and return to the obligations of the day. Essays in this section illustrate the collective recognition of belonging that can endure even after the gentrification of physical spaces, and the strategy for the survival of marginalized people across time and space. Fittingly, the chapter concludes with José Álvarez-Colón and Ramón H. Rivera-Servera's interview with Eduardo Alegría, "After the Eighties . . . A Queer Afterlife."Queer Nightlife takes the reader on a journey through the complex dimensions of queer nightlife. This journey illustrates that queer nightlife can be both amusement and sorrow, distraction and work, entertaining and mundane, satisfying and anxiety-provoking, escapism and reality. It is political and apolitical. It is frivolous and meaningful. Queer nightlife creates community in and beyond physical spaces, ultimately providing insights into the social, economic, and relational dimensions of life.
Statement of purposeRoughly one in five US women and one in sixteen US men are sexually assaulted while in college. Sexual assault contributes to a range of psychological sequelae -- from depression to social withdrawal and sleep disturbances -- that hinder students’ ability to learn and fully participate in college. Mitigating this gender inequality in higher education has recently become a national priority; in 2011 the Department of Education clarified that it may withhold federal funds from schools that fail to adequately address sexual violence. Campus sexual violence precludes equal access to education. Its prevention is therefore crucial to promoting individual and national psychosocial health.MethodsThis study relies on 19 interviews and 3 focus groups University of Michigan sophomores (n=38). We examine perspectives on existing campus anti’”sexual violence trainings. Our sample mirrors the demographics of the University by gender, race, sexual orientation, athletic status, and Greek-affiliation.ResultsRespondents frame sexual assault as ‘˜someone else’s problem.’ Non-Greek affiliates blame Greek affiliates. Students involved with Greek Life reference non-University perpetrators. Women blame men; men blame women. Collectively, respondents construct ‘sexual assault’ as simultaneously everywhere and nowhere.Contributions to Injury Prevention ProgrammingThe ‘˜everywhere and nowhere’ trend obfuscates a process of locating blame, and subsequently effective prevention efforts. Firstly, it muddles individuals’ self-reflection – if one does not conceptualise themselves as possible perpetrator, they are unlikely to critically evaluate their sexual experiences. Similarly, for potential victims, conceptually locating the issue elsewhere complicates one’s ability to interpret and label nonconsensual sexual encounters. Not understanding one’s own experiences as an assault can be a barrier to resources, recourse, and recovery. Prevention programming might take into account how sexual violence manifests differently across University sub-groups.
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