University of Leicester 2—8 February 2019
www.talksv.uk
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Let’s Talk About Sexual Violence
Set in Infini by Sandrine Nugue. Printed on G.F Smith Claret Colorplan and Munken Desing Pure Rough Cream.
Challenging Rape Myths. An Artful Intervention.
INTRODUCTION
CONTRIBUTORS
Let’s Talk About Sexual Violence is an interdisciplinary project. It follows on from research and knowledge surrounding sexual violence from numerous colleagues at the University of Leicester and other Higher Education Institutions, along with legal and specialist practitioners working in the East Midlands region.
Management: Dr Anna Carline Dr Clare Gunby Harriet Smailes
Law Criminology Student Support
As part of its role as a HeForShe IMPACT Champion, in February 2018, The University of Leicester held an Ideathon where students were asked, how can we tackle gender-based violence? A visual art project was suggested as one of three key concepts to portray the real life experiences. The Let’s Talk About Sexual Violence exhibition evolved as a result of these conversations.
Support Dr Becky Barnes Dr Heather Flowe Dr Stevie Marsden Dr Kaitlynn Mendes Mary Prior QC Prof Helen Woods
Criminology Psychology, University of Birmingham Media, Communication & Sociology Media, Communication & Sociology Barrister / Judge Media, Communication & Sociology
While the Ideathon played a catalyst role, this initiative was ultimately ignited through a global response to sex related crime, amidst austerity measures which have led to the closure, or threat of closure, of hundreds of specialist support services and refuges, despite increased demand.
Artists Madeleine Corcoran Raisa Mccleary Francis Samia Malik Kajal Nisha Patel
Photographic Artist Visual Artist Digital Artist Lead Artist & Curator
This collaboration between academics, activists, artists, practitioners, students, survivors, university and sexual violence support services, allows us to challenge insidious and entrenched myths and misconceptions regarding rape and sexual assault, with a collective voice.
Creative Support Saria Digregorio Dizzy Ink Champaklal Parmar Bárbara Sandín Sunil Shah V21 Artspace
Graphic Design Printing Textiles Illustration Consultation, Website Virtual Exhibition
University Road
Victoria Park
Intoxication Male Disability Relationship Acquaintance
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Princess Road East West Walk
Salisbury Road
Regent Road
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Content Warning: sexually violent & explicit material. Not suitable for under 18s.
1 Leicester Law School 2 Department of Criminology 3 School of Media, Communication & Sociology 4 David Wilson Library 5 School of Museum Studies 6 Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies
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Partners Leicester Rape Crisis Lightseekers Standing Together
University of Leicester 4
Coach Driver Car Park
This work is generously supported by the Office for Students (OfS) and the University of Leicester Standing Together Initiative.
Voice Actors Alex Goodwin Jerome Samia Malik Narin Ozenci Anonymous
ad Welford Ro
Welford Road
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In highlighting the ongoing and prevalent threat of sexual violence, we hope that legal, criminal and social justice organisations will commit to improving their response to the problem, invest in prevention and the rebuilding of trust, autonomy and a sense of safety amongst victims/survivors.
EXHIBITION SITES
Let’s Talk About Sexual Violence
ACADEMIC RESEARCH & FINDINGS
Facts & Recommended Reading
MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS The myths and misconceptions surrounding sexual violence contribute to a culture in which victims are reluctant to report sex crimes (to police, friends or family) due to feelings of shame and overall responsibility for the violence that they have experienced.* Misinformation can also lead to jurors, who ultimately decide the outcome of a rape case in court, to find accused sexual offenders as innocent, when they may in fact be guilty. It also explains why so many cases fail to progress through the criminal justice system.**
Content Warning: sexually violent & explicit material. Not suitable for under 18s.
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* Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1999 ** Carline & Easteal, 2014; Ellison & Munro, 2009; 2010a; 2010b; Finch & Munro, 2007; Hohl & Stanko, 2015; Kelly et al., 2005; Temkin & Krahe, 2008
Victim of some form of sexual offence since the age of 16
Unreported Crimes
20% Roughly 1 in 6 sex crimes are reported to the police.
3,4oo,000 female victims in total.
4%
Of all reported rapes, only approximately 7% of those accused are convicted of the offence.
of men
631,000 male victims in total.
Source: ONS, 2018
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Source: ONS, 2018; CPS, 2018
KEY FACTS AND STATISTICS
of women
Marital Rape
25%
13%
Marriage does not entitle a husband to sex. Forced sex is rape.
83%
of adults believe that it is not an offence for a husband to rape his wife.
Source: End Violence Against Women and Girls Coalition, 2018
of rapes or serious sexual assaults suffered by women were committed by a stranger.
of women were attacked by either their ex-partner or partner (45%) or an acquaintance (38%).
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Source: ONS, 2018
KEY FACTS AND STATISTICS
Acquaintance Rape in 2017
Victim Blaming
36%
of people believe that a victim is either wholly or partially responsible for being raped or sexually assaulted if they were under the influence of drink or drugs at the time of the attack.
Source: ONS, 2015
of people believe that a victim is either wholly or partially responsible if they had been flirting heavily with the perpetrator before being raped or sexually assaulted.
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Source: ONS, 2015
KEY FACTS AND STATISTICS
25%
Legal Practitioners’ Reflections on Rape Law
Legal and Criminal Justice Responses
→ How an Ordinary Jury Makes Sense of it is a Mystery. Barristers’ Perspectives on Rape, Consent and the Sexual Offences Act 2003, Liverpool Law Review, 32(3): 237-250. Anna Carline & Clare Gunby (2011)
→ Justice for Rape Complainants: Limitations and Possibilities, in P Carlen (ed) Justice Alternatives. Abingdon: Routledge. Anna Carline & Clare Gunby (2019) → Rape Politics, Policies and Practice: Exploring the Tensions and Unanticipated Consequences of Well-Intended VictimFocused Measures, The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 56(1): 34-52. Anna Carline & Clare Gunby (2017)
→ Barristers Perspectives on the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and its Impact on Practice, Journal of Criminal Law, 74(6): 579600. Clare Gunby, Anna Carline & Carol Beynon (2010)
→ Shades of Grey: Domestic and Sexual Violence Against Women: Law Reform and Society. Abingdon: Routledge. Anna Carline & Patricia Easteal (2014)
Justice. A Survivor's Perspective → Kaleidoscopic Justice: Sexual Violence and Victim-Survivors’ Perceptions of Justice, Social & Legal Studies DOI: 10.1177/0964663918761200 1-23. Clare McGlynn & Nicola Westmarland (2018)
→ Getting to (Not) Guilty: Examining Jurors Deliberative Processes in and Beyond the Context of a Mock Rape Trial, Legal Studies, 30(1): 74-97. Louise Ellison & Vanessa Munro (2010a)
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REFERENCES & FURTHER READING
BOOKS, ARTICLES, ESSAYS
Consent, Myths and Misconceptions: Lay and Legal Perspectives
Studies, 16(4): 591-614. Emily Finch & Vanessa Munro (2007)
→ Too Drunk to Consent? Exploring the Contestations and Disruptions in MaleFocused Sexual Violence Prevention Interventions, Social and Legal Studies, 27(3): 299-322. Anna Carline, Clare Gunby & Stuart Taylor (2018)
→ Sexual Assault and the Justice Gap: A Question of Attitude. Oxford: Hart Publishing. Jennifer Temkin & Barbara Krahe (2008) → Rape Myths: In Review, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18(2): 133-164. Kimberly A Lonsway & Louise F Fitzgerald (1994)
→ Regretting it After: Perspectives on Alcohol, Nonconsensual Sex and False Allegations of Rape, Social and Legal Studies, 22(1): 87-106. Clare Gunby, Anna Carline & Caryl Beynon (2013)
Media, Activism and Resistance → Speaking 'Unspeakable Things': Documenting Digital Feminist Responses to Rape Culture, Journal of Gender Studies, 27(1): 22-36. Jessalynn Keller, Kaitlynn Mendes & Jessica Ringrose (2018)
→ A Stranger in the Bushes, or an Elephant in the Room? Critical Reflection Upon Received Rape Myth Wisdom in the Context of a Mock Jury Study, New Criminal Law Review, 13(4): 781-801. Louise Ellison & Vanessa Munro (2010b)
→ Digitized Narratives of Sexual Violence: Making Sexual Violence Felt and Known Through Digital Disclosures, New Media & Society. DOI: 10.1177/1461444818820069. Kaitlynn Mendes, Jessalynn Keller & Jessica Ringrose (2018)
→ Reacting to Rape: Exploring Mock Jurors’ Assessments of Complainant Credibility, British Journal of Criminology, 49(2): 202219. Louise Ellison & Vanessa Munro (2009) → The Demon Drink and The Demonized Woman: Socio-Sexual Stereotypes and Responsibility Attribution in Rape Trials Involving Intoxicants, Social and Legal
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→ SlutWalk: Feminism, Activism & Media. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Kaitlynn Mendes (2015)
Statistics, Research, Surveys Available via our website or online
Media and Prevention Campaigns → Location, Libation and Leisure: Questioning the Usefulness of the Night Time Economy in Challenging Sexual Violence, Crime, Media, Culture, 13(3): 315333. Clare Gunby, Anna Carline & Stuart Taylor (2017)
→ Sexual Offences in England and Wales: Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2018), Year ending March 2017. London: Office for National Statistics → Violence Against Women and Girls Report. 2017-2018. London. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) (2018)
Rates of Incidence, Attrition and Conviction
→ Attitudes to Sexual Consent. End Violence Against Women Coalition (2018) London
→ Gender Differences in Alcohol-Related Non-Consensual Sex: Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Student Population, BMC Public Health, 12(216): 1-12. Clare Gunby, Anna Carline, Mark Bellis and Caryl Beynon (2012)
→ Violent Crime and Sexual Offences. Intimate Personal Violence and Serious Sexual Assault. Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2015) London: Office for National Statistics
→ Complaints of Rape and the Criminal Justice System: Fresh Evidence on the Attrition Problem in England and Wales, European Journal of Criminology, 12(3): 324–341. Katrin Hohl & Elizabeth Stanko (2015) → A Gap or a Chasm? Attrition in Reported Rape Cases. HORS 293, London: Home Office. Liz Kelly, Jo Lovett & Linda Regan (2005) ₁₄
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www.talksv.uk
Let’s Talk About Sexual Violence
ARTIST RESPONSE
₁ Exhibition Guide
University of Leicester
The interdisciplinary nature of this project inspired us to deploy a variety of creative approaches, so that people would be encouraged to engage with academic research in a more accessible way. The exhibition was curated thematically after studying twenty two legal cases of rape which were categorised as follows: acquaintance, relationship, cases involving intoxication, male rape and the rape of a vulnerable person. In each of these cases, the perpetrator was found guilty.
2—8 February 2019
New artists were commissioned while existing artwork is included to reflect the eight recurring themes of power, consent, trial, shame, myths & misconceptions, justice, space and resistance. These themes emerged in response to the twenty two legal cases. Artists, designers and activists were selected based on their demonstrated awareness and commitment to human rights and social justice. In working with these individuals, we were able to translate some of the complexities surrounding sexual violence, while foregrounding important personal and political issues.
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Six sites feature separate and sometimes overlapping themes and concepts. These sites include Leicester Law School, the Department of Criminology, the School of Media, Communication & Sociology, the David Wilson Library, the School of Museum Studies and the Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies. In choosing these spaces, numerous experiences are symbolically represented as survivors continue to move between the injustices of systemic power, towards peace and solidarity in a collective pursuit for justice.
SITE 1 Consent – A Legal Definition Research shows the scale of misunderstanding regarding the law of sexual violence. While it may be understood that sex without consent amounts to rape, significant confusion surrounds the issue of consent.*
LEICESTER LAW SCHOOL
Production: Kajal Nisha Patel Design: Saria Digregorio / Bárbara Sandín Kaleidoscopes of Law and Justice A commissioned series of narrated accounts are presented through digital kaleidoscopes, including visual images, text and audio. Using real life court cases, this work draws upon the legal judgments of cases in which the person accused of rape was found guilty. In so doing, we make visible who is victimised, who perpetrators are, how intimacy and vulnerability are exploited, while we begin to see what legal justice means for those who have suffered sexual violence. We draw upon five different categories of rape: acquaintance, relationship, cases involving intoxication, male rape, and the rape of a vulnerable person. To access, please visit: www.talksv.uk. Artist: Samia Malik For survivor-victims, justice is often ‘a constantly shifting pattern’, which involves multifarious themes including ‘consequences, recognition, dignity, voice, prevention and connectedness’.** *
Carline, Gunby & Taylor, 2017 End Violence Against Women and Girls Coalition, 2018 ** McGlynn & Westmarland, 2018
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SITE 2
DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY
A Safe Place This installation dispels commonly held myths surrounding the ‘ideal rape victim’. Rapists are frequently understood to be solitary men, urged by an uncontrolled sexual desire for a young, ‘innocent’ and conventionally attractive woman. In reality, rape is motivated by a violent appetite for control and power, which leaves a wide demographic of individuals vulnerable. The scenario was influenced by a local case in which an elderly woman was raped and killed by a younger man, with whom there was an acquaintance. In creating this installation, victim blaming discourses and risk reduction techniques are disrupted to convey the reality of sexual violence, while situating the perpetrator as central to the problem.
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SITE 3
SCHOOL OF MEDIA, COMMUNICATION & SOCIOLOGY
Subversions Popular imagery is subverted to convey when, where and by whom sexual violence is encountered. The common tropes and spectacular effects of retail advertising are employed to attract the viewer’s attention towards the issue of sexual violence. Concept: Sunil Shah Production: Kajal Nisha Patel Design: Saria Digregorio
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SITE 4
DAVID WILSON LIBRARY
Blurring the Boundaries A large digital, interactive screen displays a continually running mock live social media stream, incorporating a selection of tweets interspersed with artwork from the wider project. This artwork encourages users to interact with the content, including a series of myth vs. truth statements. The digital display illustrates the transformative power of online social media platforms. A free printed magazine mirroring the digital display symbolically highlights the failings, distrust and consequent downfall of corporate/mass media. The magazine object represents new modes of representation i.e. self-published zines which mark a shift away from centralised power, towards authorship, agency and a demand for justice.
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SITE 5 A Quiet Scream This montage artwork was originally created by a victim-survivor as part of a socially engaged project, delivered by Lightseekers. The subtle and unassuming composition of this work conveys the repetitive nature of sexual violence towards its victims and survivors. The original exhibition, ‘a rebel scene’, featured a series of artworks by emerging artists on the theme of protest and activism in Nottingham.
SCHOOL OF MUSEUM STUDIES
Artist: Raisa Mccleary Francis
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LEICESTER INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
SITE 6 You Did This To Yourself A photo-poem which explores sexual violence, victimhood and the ways in which victims are blamed. It is a response to the documents that detail sexual violence — court transcripts, news reports, and interviews with victims. Phrases and statements from these sources are accompanied by images which seek to uncover the questions and emotions latent within these texts. It is a way to move beyond the fetishistic treatment of rape narratives and rape victims; a new vocabulary about sexual violence, victimhood and survival. Artist: Madeleine Corcoran Artwork: It shouts at me in dreams
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www.talksv.uk
Please visit and leave your thoughts. Your feedback is very important to us as the project evolves.
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Let's Talk About Sexual Violence
www.talksv.uk
Support Leicester Rape Crisis (for women) → 0116 255 8852 → www.jasminehouse.org.uk Firststep Leicester (for men) → 0116 254 8535 → firststepleicester.org.uk Trade Sexual Health (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans) 2nd Floor, 27 Bowling Green Street Leicester LE1 6AS → 0116 254 1747 → info@tradesexualhealth.com → www.tradesexualhealth.com University Support Student Support Services Charles Wilson Building → 0116 255 2448 → studentservices@leicester.ac.uk → www.le.ac.uk/need-help → reportandsupport.le.ac.uk (for support or to report a sexually violent incident) Further Information → www.talksv.uk
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT
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SUPPORT Leicester Rape Crisis (for women) → 0116 255 8852 → www.jasminehouse.org.uk Firststep Leicester (for men) → 0116 254 8535 → firststepleicester.org.uk
Can you spare up to three days of your time to support this project? Please get in touch for further details. You will receive a beautiful gift pack, in return for your time. Visit talksv.uk to share your thoughts. You can also join our focus group discussions (£20 gift voucher for your time). Please email talksv@le.ac.uk
Trade Sexual Health (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans) 2nd Floor, 27 Bowling Green Street Leicester LE1 6AS → 0116 254 1747 → info@tradesexualhealth.com → www.tradesexualhealth.com
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Do you feel strongly about the subject of sexual violence?
Let’s Talk About Sexual Violence
Since June 2018, a dedicated team of academics and artists have been planning and preparing for the exhibition Let’s Talk About Sexual Violence. You are now invited to join our conversation.
get involved
10 STUDENT AMBASSADOR OPPORTUNITIES
University Support Student Support Services Charles Wilson Building → 0116 255 2448 → studentservices@leicester.ac.uk → www.le.ac.uk/need-help → reportandsupport.le.ac.uk (for support or to report a sexually violent incident) Further Information → www.talksv.uk
Content Warning: sexually violent & explicit material. Not suitable for under 18s.
Sexual Violence Together We’ll Crack It
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