(Un)Silenced: Institutional Sexual Violence

How has sexual violence has been produced through different institutional cultures of harm? And what strategies have survivors used to counter silence, shame, and stigma?

Bureaucracy, Emotion and Sexual Violence

Rhian Keyse, Marybeth Hamilton & Ruth Beecher 7 December 202217 January 2023

How can historians meaningfully and ethically research past experiences of sexual violence?

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‘Speaking Out’, Colonialism and Forced Marriage

Rhian Keyse 20 September 202219 January 2023

Child marriage is often conceived of as embedded in the past, but there is little attention to its historical context. Rhian Keyse explores how this obscures the shifting dynamics and social meanings of such practices.

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Activism Against Sexual Violence

Marybeth Hamilton, George Severs, Allison McKibban & Rhea Sookdeosingh 15 June 202219 January 2023

What is the history of activism against sexual violence?

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‘Speaking Out’ against Colonialism and Sexual Violence

Allison McKibban 11 May 20224 January 2023

When does the call for ‘speaking out’ against sexual violence begin to silence victim-survivors? Through reflecting on the #MeToo moment, Allison McKibban argues mainstream Western movements against sexual violence are often insidiously…

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Child Sexual Abuse in the Family

Ruth Beecher 11 March 202229 October 2022

Is the family a place of safety or a trap? Ruth Beecher explores the institution of the family and the (lack of) recognition of child sexual abuse within it.

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Hearing male survivors

George Severs 3 March 202229 October 2022

As part of our '(Un)Silenced' series, George Severs argues that the history of male victims of rape and sexual violence should make us all alert to the ways in which gender norms silence male experiences of abuse, and prompt us to hear male…

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Involuntary Sterilization

Allison McKibban 25 February 202229 October 2022

Can medical institutions participate in colonial violence? Allison McKibban argues the involuntary sterilization of tens of thousands of Native American women in the 1970s must be rehistoricised as part of the U.S. government’s broader…

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Between Vulnerability and Sexual Agency

Stephanie Wright 10 February 20225 November 2022

How does society approach the sexual desires of those with disabilities? Stephanie Wright explores the history of a lack of acknowledgement of vulnerable people's sexual autonomy , which can result in an increased possibility of harm.

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