Sexuality: Stigma & Punishment
5 Sexuality: Stigma & Punishment articles categorized as: Sexual Violence
Will the Justice Department Stand Up for Women Raped in Prison?
by
Rachel Roth
Eight years ago, Congress acknowledged the brutal fact of systemic sexual assault behind bars by unanimously passing the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The Justice Department is now poised to issue final rules to implement the law, which makes federal funding to prisons and jails contingent on improved staff training, availability of medical and psychological services for people who suffer sexual assault, investigations and publicly available data about reported assaults.
A Message to Trafficking Victims that Their Lives Matter
by
Rachel Lloyd
Sara Kruzan was 16 years old when she was charged with killing her 31-year-old pimp, a man who had been grooming her since she was 11 years old and trafficking her since she was 13. Now 32, Sara has grown up in prison. Her clemency petition has been submitted to Gov. Schwartzenegger. Rachel Lloyd talks about Sara’s case and the importance of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Sign the petition to support Sara’s release.
Life In Hell: In California Prisons, An Unconventional Gender Identity Can Be Like An Added Sentence
by
Tali Woodward
This article by Tali Woodward discusses the sexual assault of trans women and gender-variant people housed in men’s prisons, as well as the efforts of trans women housed in the California Medical Facility in organizing against sexual violence.
The Sex Trade and Feminism: An Interview with Ann Russo
by
Ann Russo
Professor Ann Russo, director of Women and Gender Studies at DePaul University, provides an overview of the debates waging in the feminist and women’s movements over the vocabulary and perspective used to address prostitution. She discusses how her own experience as a survivor of sexual violence has contributed to her research and activism on the issue of violence against women. In this interview, Professor Russo unpacks many of the complex theoretical conversations about the sex trade and also suggests policy changes and grassroots efforts that could lead to the de-stigmatization of women involved in the sex trade.
“Our Bodies Are Not a Sacrifice”: Prostitution, Criminalization and Incarceration of Women
by
Kari Lyderson
This article examines prostitution in Chicago through recent studies, criminal justice statistics, and the stories of two women who left prostitution. The impact of gentrification, race, class, and gender on policing is examined through a discussion of the geography of prostitution arrests in Chicago.