Knowra Rape culture Rape culture A social environment in which sexual violence is normalized, excused, or minimized through attitudes, practices, and institutions. It is reinforced by victim-blaming, coercive norms, and inadequate accountability.
Victim blaming : Attributing responsibility for harm to the person who experienced it rather than to the person who caused it. It shifts scrutiny from perpetrators to survivors and can make sexual violence seem excusable.
Sexual violence : Sexual acts or attempts to obtain sexual acts carried out through coercion, force, or without consent. Rape culture concerns the social conditions surrounding this broad range of harms.
Second-wave feminism : A feminist movement, especially in the United States and Europe, focused from the 1960s onward on social, legal, and cultural inequalities. Its activism helped bring sexual violence and gendered power into public debate.
Me Too movement : A movement against sexual harassment and assault that gained worldwide visibility in 2017 through survivors' accounts and organizing. It exposed how repeated misconduct could persist through silence, status, and institutional protection.
Rape : Nonconsensual sexual penetration, defined by applicable law and sometimes broader ethical usage. Rape is an act of violence; rape culture describes social conditions that may normalize or excuse it.
Rape myth : A false or misleading belief about sexual violence, perpetrators, or survivors that distorts how assault is understood. Rape myths help sustain disbelief and excuse coercive behavior.
Consent : Voluntary, informed, and ongoing agreement to participate in a specific activity. Consent provides a standard against which coercive norms and excuses can be assessed.
Susan Brownmiller : An American feminist journalist whose 1975 book Against Our Will examined rape as a means of social control. Her work helped frame rape as a social and political issue rather than an isolated crime.
Bystander intervention : Actions taken by witnesses to prevent, interrupt, or respond to harm or risky situations. Prevention programs use it to challenge the silence and diffusion of responsibility that permit misconduct.
Sexual violence prevention : Policies and practices intended to reduce the occurrence of sexual violence and its underlying risk factors. Prevention focuses on changing conditions and conduct rather than only naming the culture.
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