Rape, claims Ann J. Cahill, affects not only those women who are raped, but all women who experience their bodies as rapable and adjust their actions and self-images accordingly. Rethinking Rape counters legal and feminist definitions of rape as mere assault and decisively emphasizes the centrality of the body and sexuality in a crime which plays a crucial role in the continuing oppression of women.

Rethinking Rape applies current feminist theory to an urgent political and ethical issue. Cahill takes an original approach by reading the subject of rape through the work of such recent continental feminist thinkers as Luce Irigaray, Elizabeth Grosz, Rosi Braidotti, and Judith Butler, who understand the body as fluid and indeterminate, a site for the negotiation of power and resistance. Cahill interprets rape as an embodied, sexually marked experience, a violation of feminine bodily integrity, and a pervasive threat to the integrity and identity of a woman's person.

The wrongness of rape, which has always eluded legal interpretation, cannot be defined as theft, battery, or the logical extension of heterosexual sex. It is not limited to a specific event, but encompasses the myriad ways in which rape threatens the prospect of feminine agency. As an explication that fully countenances women's experiences of their own bodies, Rethinking Rape helps point the way toward reparation, resistance, and the evolution of feminine subjectivity.

A bold, gender-inflected reinterpretation of secular Spanish texts of the early modern period that focuses on sexual violence as expressive of cultural and political issues.

Marcia Welles applies her extensive knowledge of Spanish Golden Age literature and her insightful grasp of current literary theory to synthesize a wide range of material into a uniquely engaging and refreshing interpretation of well-known texts. While the subject of rape and violence has been studied in other European literatures, "Persephone's Girdle" is the first to do so in the field of early modern Spanish literature.

In this "honest and moving portrait of a painful subject" ("Kirkus Reviews"), Pierce-Baker weaves together the accounts of black women who have been raped and who have felt that they had to remain silent in order to protect themselves and their race.

A bold, gender-inflected reinterpretation of secular Spanish texts of the early modern period that focuses on sexual violence as expressive of cultural and political issues.
Marcia Welles applies her extensive knowledge of Spanish Golden Age literature and her insightful grasp of current literary theory to synthesize a wide range of material into a uniquely engaging and refreshing interpretation of well-known texts. While the subject of rape and violence has been studied in other European literatures, Persephone's Girdle is the first to do so in the field of early modern Spanish literature.

According to Judge Susan Webber Wright, President Clinton's alleged behavior toward Paula Jones, even if "boorish and offensive, " did not constitute sexual harassment because he had taken "no" for an answer. Democrats and feminists argue that President Clinton's alleged lies in the Jones case were 'just about sex" and therefore insignificant.

In a passionate defense of the rights of sexually harassed women, Gwendolyn Mink warns that Judge Wright and the president's supporters have undermined our sexual harassment laws. Hostile Environment is her provocative account of the harm being done to these laws and her warning that the laws themselves are worthless if, as in the current political climate, few women dare to use them.

Mink provides a lucid analysis of sexual harassment as a legal concept and corrects many common misapprehensions. She also develops a stringent critique of feminist responses to allegations that the president lied in the Jones case. Throughout the book, she emphasizes the significance of power in sexual harassment. "Power is always the harasser's aphrodisiac, " Mink argues. "Harassers may use power to coerce sex; or they may use sex to exert power.... The sex in sexual harassment is never 'just about sex' but always about power."

Sometimes scathing, always astute, Hostile Environment is also a highly personal book. Mink describes her own experience of sexual harassment as a graduate student -- the violation and fear, then the betrayal when faculty and fellow students sought to discredit and dismiss her account.

First-hand knowledge of the injuries caused by sexual harassment and its aftermath has left Mink with an abiding interest in this volatile issue andwith a desire to safeguard the rights of sexually harassed women -- especially the most economically vulnerable among them.

'Asperger's made me a prisoner in my own home. When I finally entered the real world, evil was waiting.' A shocking true account of one girl's harrowing journey to survival. Sophie Crockett spent most of her childhood suffering from crippling anxiety. Diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, she became a virtual prisoner in her own home, afraid to venture outside. After battling with depression, eating disorders and self-harm, Sophie had the courage to re-enter society in her late teens. She was just 17 when she fell prey to ST, a violent bully who exploited her vulnerability and cruelly assumed complete coercive control over her life. He kept Sophie captive and refused to leave her alone; fed her, bathed her, even escorted her to the toilet. Sophie endured countless tirades of mental and physical abuse, kept as his sex slave while he repeatedly threatened to kill her. She was convinced it was the end. But through her bravery, and with little help from the authorities, Sophie was able to escape. This is her story.

Spectral Evidence is a masterful account of the Ramona family of Napa Valley, CA, whose outward appearance of success was destroyed by allegations of child sexual abuse brought by Holly, the eldest of the Ramonas three daughters, by her mother, Stephanie, and by Holly's therapists against her father, Gary.These allegations were based on memories recovered through the efforts of the therapists, who were later successfully sued by Gary for malpractice. From the powerfully rendered confrontation between Gary and his wife and daughter, to the dramatic conclusion of the first trial, at which the entire concept of recovered memory was furiously debated, readers witness a dynamic and emotional family drama.Johnston, a veteran investigative journalist, objectively explores the nature of recovered memory, its validity, and its quick acceptance within the professional psychological community. The book provides an even-handed and fair survey of the research and opinions brought to bear by feminists, psychologists, memory scientists, and legal experts.

"Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You" destroys our complacency about who among us can commit unspeakable atrocities, who is subjected to them, and who can stop them. From age four to eighteen, Sue William Silverman was repeatedly sexually abused by her father, an influential government official and successful banker. Through her eyes, we see an outwardly normal family built on a foundation of horrifying secrets that long went unreported, undetected, and unconfessed.

Takes the reader on an emotional journey through three years of therapy after rape. The author confides her raw fears, providing a gripping account of the sexual assault and its haunting aftermath. Her story powerfully articulates that a rape victim can not only survive but triumph.

"A resource of excellent caliber...Highly recommended for those who suspect that they are unconscious survivors of abuse and especially for therapists to dig into the darkest shadow part of human existence."
ELIZABETH KUBLER-ROSS, M.D.
SECRET SURVIVORS is the first book to expand the definition of incest to include any adult abuser and to focus on what incest does to survivors. E. Sue Blume shows how incest is often at the root of such problems as depression, sexual and eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, and phobias and panic disorders. Using this information and the author's guidance, survivors can identify themselves, develop alternative, nondestructive survival techniques and begin again on a new path toward a rich and empowered life.


From the Paperback edition.

This is a study of the effects of racism on the protection and support of black children who have been sexually abused. The author explores the myths and realities surrounding the abuse of black children, and the actions of social workers and others who are responsible for their protection. Her purpose is to demonstrate how deeply racism is affecting the provision and care for the abused black child, the prevention of disclosure of abuse by such children, and what can be done to redress the balance. The book includes first-hand accounts supported by qualitative and quantitative research and references to literature in the field. It is aimed at those preparing for the Diploma in Social Work or NVQ in Care level 3, health visitors and Project 2000 nurses.>

Based on fifteen years of experience treating survivors of family violence, James Leehan provides this excellent resource to aid all individuals trying to overcome the effects of abusive behavior--behavior that is often supported by religion and generates spiritual conflicts for survivors. He helps survivors identify their feelings and behaviors and examines Jewish and Christian religious resources that can promote healing and spiritual growth. Leehan also reviews the spiritual dimension of the pain that survivors of family violence confront daily and the special skills they developed to survive in a hostile environment.

Trauma and the Therapist explores the role and experience of the therapist in the therapeutic relationship by examining countertransference (the therapist's response to the client) and vicarious traumatization (the therapist's response to the stories of abuse told by client after client). Therapists' awareness of attunement to these processes will inform their therapeutic interventions, enrich their work, and protect themselves and their clients. The authors also offer many strategies for avoiding the countertransference vicarious traumatization cycle. While the topic is specific, the authors' approach is broad, drawing from and synthesizing the diverse literature on countertransference and trauma theory. Utilizing the sophistication of psychoanalytic theory and the specificity of contemporary trauma theory, Pearlman and Saakvitne present their approach clearly and compellingly. This book will help all therapists treating incest survivors feel less isolated and traumatized by their work, and give them a renewed appreciation of its rewards.

Back Off is filled with real-life success stories from women who have stopped harassers cold:
-- Sharon, who succeeded in stopping a whole crew of habitual harassers in a city park...
-- Stephanie, a ten-year-old who confronted and escaped a child molester...
-- Catharine and Molly, who stood up to their landlord and stopped him from harassing the tenants...

and dozens more. From an eight-year-old who successfully challenged two young harassers on the playground to an organized group of fifty women who confronted a dockworker in response to an attempted rape on the job, here's what they did, how they did it -- and how you can do it, too.

Back Off is the first book to focus on the direct-action tactics that work and the first to deal with harassment everywhere it takes place, in both blue-collar and white-collar jobs, at school, on the street, on the bus or subway, in the park, even in church.

Back Off examines the dynamics of sex and power in sexual harassment, the motives behind harassers' actions, and why traditional responses such as appeasement or aggression don't work, and describes the successful resistance strategies that you really can use -- including nonviolent personal confrontation techniques, group confrontations, administrative remedies, and formal lawsuits.

Child sexual abuse wounds its victims deeply. Physical wounds can be seen; invisible wounds and scars touch the soul. Catherine Foote offers this book to survivors of abuse, especially survivors of childhood sexual abuse, offering them a way of exploring the impact that abuse has had on their relationship with God.

This collection of prose and therapeutic insights creates a powerful commentary on incest, rape, abuse, and the recovery process.
Women and men share their personal experiences of childhood abuse and walk with the reader along the path toward wellness. They reflect each stage of healing with a clarity that, while often painful, is also hopeful.
Addressing various aspects of abuse, including ritualistic abuse, multiple personality disorder, and partnering as well as providing a therapist's insights on the stages of healing, "Triumph Over Darkness" helps readers to understand recovery as a predictable process and see that healing is possible.

'An absolute stunner: frank, funny, self-aware, constantly surprising ... One of the most insightful representations I've read of what it feels like to be alive these days' GEORGE SAUNDERS ________________________ One day Heidi Julavits sees her son silhouetted by the sun and notices he is at the threshold of what she calls "the end times of childhood." When did this happen, she asks herself. Who is my son becoming-and what qualifies me to be his guide? What follows starts to feel like uncharted waters. Rape allegations rock the university campus where she teaches, unleashing questions of justice and accountability. Julavits begins to wonder how to prepare her son to be the best possible citizen of the world he's about to enter. And what must she learn about herself in order to responsibly steer him. Looking back to her own childhood in Maine, where she often navigated the coastline in a small boat relying on a decades-old sailing guide, Julavits takes us on an intellectual navigation of the self. Throughout, she intertwines her internal investigation with a wide-ranging exploration of what it means to raise a child in a time full of contradictions and moral complexity. Using the past and present as points of orientation, Directions to Myself examines the messy minutiae of contemporary family life alongside knottier philosophical questions of politics and gender. Through it all, Julavits discovers the beauty and the danger of telling stories as a way to locate ourselves, and help others find us. Intimate, rigorous, and refreshingly unsentimental about motherhood and parenting, Directions to Myself is a love letter to Maine and a reckoning with the disappearance of childhood-her children's and her own-that cements Julavits' reputation as one of the most engaged and innovative nonfiction writers today whose work has been called "fascinating" (Washington Post), "scathingly funny" (Los Angeles Times), and "exquisite" (New York Times).

Sexual harassment is overwhelmingly a problem of women workers. It has nothing to do with normal interaction between the sexes: it denotes scorn of another person, and is used to establish or prove power over others. Sexual harassment produces feelings of revulsion, violation, disgust, anger and powerlessness. Good managers know that it is in the long-term interest of the enterprise to ensure that their employees are treated with respect. While effective legal remedies are necessary, it is also important to ensure that the problem ceases, or better still, never starts. Thus, preventive measures are especially important. This issue of the Conditions of Work Digest is essential reading for employers, personnel managers, trade unionists and all those in governmental and non-governmental circles who are committed to justice and dignity at work.

Now revised and expanded, this classic text is written in a question and answer format, it addresses seldom talked about issues and offers countless self-help techniques and advice.

This approach enables clients to find relief from symptoms stemming from or related to the sexual abuse, to alter feelings associated with memories of trauma so that flashbacks become less intrusive, and to develop a positive, practical, and healthy future orientation. In short, clients experience healing and begin to live satisfying lives. Yvonne Dolan works from the assumption that, despite the traumas they have endured, clients have the inner resources to create uniquely effective solutions to their problems. Both solution-oriented and hypnotic techniques are used to tap those resources in the context of a safe, respectful relationship. Clients are encouraged to trust themselves, to move at their own right pace, and to recognize and build on tiny signs of healing. Ericksonian techniques are particularly powerful in enabling clients to resolve dissociated traumatic experiences, experience corrective development learnings, and turn the symptom of dissociation into a resource for healing. Solution-focused therapy ensures that clients not only resolve past sexual abuse but also form a clear map of functional behaviors and perceptions to replace trauma-based ones. Specific strategies are offered for treatment of post-traumatic amnesia, self-mutilation, sexual dysfunctions, memory problems, and a multitude of other symptoms. While the treatment is primarily individual, supportive family members and friends are invited to sessions, where they learn to assist survivors in ways that are comforting and healing. Rather than obsessively going over the traumatic events of the past, both clients and supportive family members are guided to notice signs of improvement, to identify actions and words that are helpful, and to do more of what works. In addition, the therapist and client plan strategies for dealing with nonsupportive family members and with perpetrators. In effect, Resolving Sexual Abuse shows therapists and clients how to imagine a healthy, satisfying future-and then move toward it with confidence and success.

"Life itself is in these pages: in this candid, poetic style there is storytelling of real quality" - LEILA SLIMANI, author of Lullaby A powerful and personal account of the devastating consequences of childhood rape: a valuable voice for the #MeToo conversation. Adelaide Bon grew up in a wealthy neighborhood in Paris, a privileged child with a loving family, lots of friends and seemingly limitless opportunity lying ahead of her. But one sunny afternoon, when she was nine years old, a strange man followed her home and raped her in the stairwell of her building. She told her parents, they took her to the police, the fact of the crime was registered ... and then a veil was quietly drawn over that part of her childhood, and life was supposed to go on. Except, of course, it didn't. Throughout her adolescence and young adulthood, Adelaide struggles with the aftermath of the horror of that afternoon in 1990. The lingering trauma pervades all aspects of her life: family education, friendships, relationships, even her ability to eat normally. And then one day, many years later, when she is married and has a small son, she receives a call from the police saying that they think they have finally caught the man who raped her, a man who has hidden in plain sight for decades, with many other victims ready to testify against him. The subsequent court case reveals Giovanni Costa, the stuff of nightmares and bogeymen, finally vanquished by the weight of dozens and dozens of emotional and horrifying testimonies from all the women whose lives and childhoods he stole.

"The Secret Trauma" remains the definitive argument for the overwhelming prevalence of incestuous abuse. Based on findings about San Francisco, the book makes a persuasive case for an epidemic of abuse on a national scale. In her nuanced and sophisticated analysis, Russell carefully explores the complex variables of incestuous abuse: the changing incidence of abuse over time, the severity of th abuse, the victim's age, factors of class, race, and ethnicity, and long term effects on victims.In a new introduction to the revised edition, Russell takes on the most important issue to arise in the field since the book was originally published in 1986: the serious backlash that followed the outpouring of reports by victims/survivors, and the controversy over false accusations and "false memories."

Valuable resource for professionals in fields of psychiatry, psychology, mentatal health, social work and teaching, also for concerned parents. Provides guidelines for treating the child and family and systems for prevention. Techniques of different therapies are discussed as well as procedures for reporting, investigating, and interviewing the child.

'An absolute stunner: frank, funny, self-aware, constantly surprising ... One of the most insightful representations I've read of what it feels like to be alive these days' GEORGE SAUNDERS ________________________ One day Heidi Julavits sees her son silhouetted by the sun and notices he is at the threshold of what she calls "the end times of childhood." When did this happen, she asks herself. Who is my son becoming-and what qualifies me to be his guide? What follows starts to feel like uncharted waters. Rape allegations rock the university campus where she teaches, unleashing questions of justice and accountability. Julavits begins to wonder how to prepare her son to be the best possible citizen of the world he's about to enter. And what must she learn about herself in order to responsibly steer him. Looking back to her own childhood in Maine, where she often navigated the coastline in a small boat relying on a decades-old sailing guide, Julavits takes us on an intellectual navigation of the self. Throughout, she intertwines her internal investigation with a wide-ranging exploration of what it means to raise a child in a time full of contradictions and moral complexity. Using the past and present as points of orientation, Directions to Myself examines the messy minutiae of contemporary family life alongside knottier philosophical questions of politics and gender. Through it all, Julavits discovers the beauty and the danger of telling stories as a way to locate ourselves, and help others find us. Intimate, rigorous, and refreshingly unsentimental about motherhood and parenting, Directions to Myself is a love letter to Maine and a reckoning with the disappearance of childhood-her children's and her own-that cements Julavits' reputation as one of the most engaged and innovative nonfiction writers today whose work has been called "fascinating" (Washington Post), "scathingly funny" (Los Angeles Times), and "exquisite" (New York Times).