(xi) Preface

"In light of such egregious abuses of power, it may be tempting to look at a book on sexual consent and wonder what good it does. It is not that powerful people, powerful men like Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and Donald Trump, do not understand that the women they are violating do not consent."(xi)

"The answer is that this book is about much more than consent. It is, at its core, about power: about the blatant abuses of it by men like Thomas, Trump, and Kavanaugh; but also about its more insidious operations—­through ideas and culture—­that create the rape-­supportive environment we are living in. It is a book about peeling back the layers of this rape culture and dismantling the power structures it is enmeshed in (patriarchy, racism, white supremacy, cisnormativity, compulsory (hetero)sexuality, ableism, capitalism) until individual consent actually matters." [mijn nadruk] (xii)

[De context is dus de VS. Again. Maar het lijkt wel internationaal georiënteerd. ]

(1) Introduction

Living in a rape culture

"In 2001, the British Crime Survey found that over their lifetime since age 16,45 percent of women and 26 percent of men had experienced domestic violence, sexual victimization, or stalking at least once."(3)

[Ik heb een hekel aan die uitdrukking "rape culture". Dat is puur ideologie. Hoe hoog de cijfers ook zijn, je kunt dat niet generaliseren naar "deze cultuur is een cultuur van verkrachters". Een heleboel mensen zijn dat helemaal niet, de uitdrukking beledigt al die mensen die elke dag proberen aardig, sociaal en vriendelijk te zijn voor anderen.]

"The victims of sexual violence continue to be stigmatized and even blamed for the violations they experience, while perpetrators are rarely held to account for their actions. Across a range of Western jurisdictions, conviction rates for rape have been hovering at somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of reported cases for years."(3)

[Wat wil je dan? Dat iedereen meteen iemand gelooft die roept "ik ben verkracht"? Dat moet allemaal wel aangetoond worden en boven redelijke twijfel verheven zijn. Je kunt "judicial rape" niet voorkomen. ]

"When addressing the ubiquity of sexual violence and how our society deals with both perpetrators and survivors, feminist scholars and activists speak of a “rape culture.” Rape culture is the collection of ideas, practices, and structures in our society that make it easy for perpetrators to commit sexual violence and make it hard for victims to speak out or get justice." [mijn nadruk] (4)

[Seksueel geweld is niet alomtegenwoordig. Ook dat is een generalisering zonder grond. Niet iedereen gaat mee in het gedrag dat bij standaard rolverdelingen hoort.]

"We think of rape victims as “she” and of per- petrators as “he,” ignoring the fact that women can commit sexual violence too, that sexual violence can happen between people of the same gender, that men and non-binary people can be victims."(4)

"Perhaps above all, we approach victims’ accounts with a profound sense of distrust, preferring to think that “she made it up” for the money, or the fame, or for revenge. All of this adds up to the environment we call rape culture."(5)

[Er is niks mis met wantrouwen tegenover allerlei beweringen, iedereen moet zich terecht verantwoorden als zij of hij iets beweert. Goedgelovigheid is een groter probleem, mensen zien als slachtoffers is een groter probleem.]

"Following these and a host of other allegations against celebrities, politicians, and other powerful individuals from all walks of life, the importance of consent in sexual and interpersonal interactions has become one of the key messages of the #MeToo campaign, alongside highlighting abuses of power and the need to support victims and survivors."(5-6)

[O nee, daar gaan we weer: #MeToo, 'victims', 'survivors'. ]

"This book, then, tries to fill some of this gap by presenting a range of feminist ideas about sexual consent. It is, by necessity, a book of a particular time and a particular place—­or at least with a particular cultural outlook. Its focus is predominantly on cultures we think of as “Western”—North America, Western Europe, and to a lesser extent Australia and New Zealand—and it seeks to cover a variety of perspectives, experiences, and knowledges from within these cultures." [mijn nadruk] (7-8)

"When we move away from looking at consent as something that happens between individuals in a specific situation and start looking at it as something enmeshed in social structures, cultural practices, and complex operations of power, the radical potential of the idea of consent becomes really clear. This version of consent allows us to ask much bigger questions than who said yes and who said no. It allows us to start exploring the social and cultural forces that shape the options we have, how we see ourselves, how we are seen by others, right down to our very desires. It allows us to ask what the conditions are that we need to create for consent to be truly free, and truly meaningful. It allows us to start dismantling rape culture in favor of a culture of consent." [mijn nadruk] (11-12)

(13) 2 - Consent 101

"Bodily autonomy is the idea that you get to decide what you do with your body, what happens to it, who else has access to it, and how that access is obtained and exercised. And you should be able to make those decisions without external pressure, coercion, or others wielding power over you. Your exercise of bodily autonomy can range from the everyday (you get to decide what you wear, what and when to eat, when and how much to sleep) to your interactions with a wide range of social institutions and practices such as medical care (you should not be forced into medical treatment you don’t want), reproductive rights (you should not be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term or, conversely, be sterilized against your will), and even death (you should be able to decide what happens to your remains, including whether you donate any of your organs). The legal recognition of bodily autonomy is far from universal."(14)

"The “no means no” approach is fundamentally different from the radical feminist approach, as it focuses on personal agency and consent negotiation between individuals. The assumption here is that women are free to and do say “no” when they do not want sex, and that this “no” is being ignored by men, who go on to pressure, nag, threaten, or even use violence to obtain sex. This does indeed describe a significant number of rape cases, and thus “no means no” is both an important development in understanding consent and a key part of dealing with sexual violence. Yet it is far from the whole picture." [mijn nadruk] (16)

"The “yes means yes” conception of consent (also known as “enthusiastic consent” or “affirmative consent”) is a reaction to both the radical feminist approach and the deficiencies of the “no means no” approach. In emphasizing the need for a clear, articulated “yes,” this approach seeks to address some of the gaps that “no means no” leaves. It puts the responsibility on men to not only respect a clear “no” but also to ensure that their partner genuinely, enthusiastically wants sex and is able to say so."(17-18)

"This has led to the development of a variety of “sex-­critical” approaches to consent. Like radical feminist approaches, these pay attention to issues of power in consent negotiation. But sex-­critical feminists also tend to have a more nuanced conception of power, not as a monolithic, top-­down oppressive force, but as an interaction of multiple forces, all pushing in different directions."(20)

"Sex-­critical approaches to consent recognize these cultural practices and dominant ideas as something that may shape our thoughts and actions, and may constrain our ability to exercise bodily autonomy. Ultimately, they ask what the conditions are under which we can freely say “no” to sex, as those are also the conditions under which our “yes” becomes truly meaningful." [mijn nadruk] (21)

"A key part of what makes our culture “rape-­supportive” is an array of rape myths"(23)

"Perhaps the most common rape myth is that rapists are strangers who jump out of dark alleys with weapons. In fact, the vast majority of sexual violence is committed by people known to the victim: acquaintances, family members, colleagues, partners, husbands. What this myth does is make rape seem like an extraordinary event when in reality, for many victims, it can be very ordinary and downright domestic. As a result, it also makes rapists seem like extraordinary monsters rather than the everyday people they actually are."(23)

[Goed neergezet. ]

"Where the stranger rape myth suggests that we can tell if it was a rape from the circumstances and the relationship between victim and perpetrator, the violent rape myth suggests that we can tell whether rape allegations are true from the physical state of the victim, again detracting from the core question of consent." [mijn nadruk] (24)

"The idea that women always put up token resistance to sex, but in reality they want it, is another pervasive rape myth. It works side by side with the myth that unless a woman put up the utmost resistance (screamed, kicked, fought, tried to run away, and sustained other physical injuries in the process), she consented. "(24)

"They ignore the realities of rape experiences: that victims freeze, especially when assaulted by someone they know and trust; that fighting back puts them at greater risk of additional injuries; that rapists use intimidation and manipulation more than physical violence."(24-25)

"the law remains a blunt tool that does not actually reflect the sometimes messy experience of human sexuality, or what we as a society or as individuals may value about our sexuality."(28)

"Practices of evidence collection, decision making on whether to prosecute a particular case, and what happens in a courtroom all reproduce rape culture, re-traumatizing and blaming survivors of sexual violence while acquitting those who perpetrate it."(32-33)

(37) 3 - Negotiating consent

"Approaching sexual consent from the perspective of bodily autonomy means having respect for your own and your partners’ bodily autonomy, treating your partners with the care and consideration due another person, and erring on the side of caution when you are not sure whether they are as into what you are doing as you are."(37)

[Dat is inderdaad de kern van de zaak.]

"In many ways, this chapter sets out what consent negotiation would look like in an ideal world, free from power relations and assumptions about what sex is, and where we all have rather fewer hang-­ups about expressing our desires or saying no to each other when we feel uncomfortable with something. In chapter 4, we will look at how structural inequalities and other operations of power in society impact consent."(38)

"While degrees of harm and individual experiences may differ and depend on a range of factors, your bodily autonomy is still violated by being kissed or touched against your will, not only by being penetrated against your will. (...) So, the range of acts we need to negotiate consent for is much wider than just penile-vaginal intercourse, or even penetration. If we truly care about our own and our partners’ bodily autonomy, we should be ensuring that we and they are consenting to everything we choose to do together, whether that is cuddling, kissing, intercourse, kink, or an orgy." [mijn nadruk] (40-41)

"Asking is the first important thing we need to learn to do when it comes to consent."(43)

"There are also reasons why women in heterosexual situations in particular may communicate refusals less directly. Direct communication, and especially a direct refusal, is seen as masculine, and women are frequently socially penalized for unfeminine behaviors. In some situations, women also genuinely fear for their safety if they upset their partner, and therefore will try to soften refusals as much as possible in order to protect themselves. Respect for others’ bodily autonomy requires us to listen to our partners and take ambivalence or polite refusals as seriously as an outright “no.”" [mijn nadruk] (48)

"The concept of seduction, then, is premised on the notion that “no” does not always mean “no,” that women in particular cannot be trusted to clearly communicate their consent or non-consent, and that it is acceptable to push boundaries until “no” becomes “yes.”"(57)

"Seduction attempts more often than not are attempts to push boundaries, stated or implied. People sometimes do give in to them, but frequently that is not out of genuine desire but out of fear of worse consequences. In reality, even if “no” does become “yes,” it does so under pressure and coercion, and rarely in a way that is respectful of someone’s bodily autonomy."(59)

(65) 4 - Sex and power—­between yes and no

"But in many cases unwanted sex is experienced as a violation, or at least as something not quite right, and nonetheless consented to.(...) Why do we consent to sex we do not want? What other factors might influence our decision making?"(66)

"All of these experiences point toward an important way in which power is exercised and individual agency and autonomy are limited in our society."(68)

"The male sexual drive discourse tells us that sex (specifically partnered, heterosexual sex) is a biological necessity for men. It casts men as less in control of their sexual desires and arousal than women. In this way it at least partially absolves men of responsibility for their actions when aroused.(...) Such rules excuse boys’ behavior—­their distraction and even the harassment of girls—­and instead transfer the blame for it to girls. Common rape myths and victim-­blaming perceptions, such as the idea that women provoke their attackers through the way they dress or act, are also an extension of the male sexual drive discourse." [mijn nadruk] (70-71)

"Another dominant idea about heterosexual sex and relationships that shapes the way individuals act in relation to sex is the “have/hold” discourse. (...) this is the idea that women, while less interested in sex than men, have a strong interest in long-­term, stable, romantic relationships. This also casts sex as something that should only or predominantly take place within such relationships, and puts the responsibility for ensuring this on women. Women who fail to do this, for instance by having casual sex, suffer social consequences."(72)

"The male sexual drive and the have/hold discourses have their origins partly in Christian approaches to gender roles and sexuality. Extreme versions of these discourses have been (re)elevated to religious doctrine and enshrined in religious institutions in US evangelical communities."(73)

"“Purity culture” has for several decades been exported beyond evangelical communities and used as a recruitment tool by churches. Evangelical organizations have developed and continue to deliver “abstinence only” sex education (frequently the only kind of sex education available) in schools across the United States, reproducing extreme versions of the male sexual drive and have/hold discourses, and fostering rape-supportive attitudes among young people."(74-75)

[O wauw, iemand uit de VS die kritiek heeft op dit soort zaken... ]

"A third, more recently developed idea about gender and sexuality that operates alongside the male sexual drive and have/hold discourses is the permissive discourse."(75)

"Neoliberal ideas actively work to obscure the role of exploitative or oppressive structures by shifting responsibility to the individual."(76)

[Helemaal waar. ]

"Here, dominant ideas about sexual expression and personal responsibility limit individuals’ ability to say no to sex they do not want, and deflect the blame for these experiences back onto the individual."(77)

"A useful next step is examining how sex itself is discursively constructed. What are the dominant discourses that structure what counts as sex, who does what, and how it all works?"(78)

"Western cultures in the early twenty-­first century have certain dominant sexual scripts. These scripts are highly gendered, as well as cis-­and heteronormative. We tend to define sex as penile-vaginal intercourse that happens between one cisgender man and one cisgender woman. Men are seen as the active initiators of sex, women as passive gatekeepers. We tend to place the starting point of sex somewhere around kissing and touching, and the endpoint at a cisgender man’s ejaculation, and there is a clear line of progression between these two points. There is some latitude in the script for things like safer sex practices and types of relationship, but by and large this is how we think of sex in our culture." [mijn nadruk] (81)

"Sexual scripts can also interact with other dominant discourses to affect how we think about sex, relationships, and consent. One example of this is the strong association between sexual and romantic relationships in our culture, which itself is a reflection of the have/hold discourse."(82)

"Many people report that over time in a long-­term relationship they lose interest in sex (sometimes as a result of a change in circumstances such as the arrival of children). Some of them are perfectly happy with this, yet they find themselves under significant pressure to maintain a sexual relationship, and then they find themselves engaging in unwanted sex as a kind of relationship-­maintenance practice."(82-83)

En dan de vele groepen mensen die niet in dat dominante script passen en buitengesloten worden. Iedereen die niet cis is, maar ook gehandicapte mensen, waarover ze zegt:

"They are commonly desexualized, in the sense that we tend to think of disabled people as not having sexual needs, experiencing sexual attraction, or having sex. Some disabled people may very well be asexual, but the two are not necessarily correlated: many disabled people do in fact experience sexual attraction and have sex. But dominant sexual scripts exclude many disabled people whose disabilities mean that they cannot engage in the kind of sex sanctioned by the script. As a result, some disabled people find themselves stepping outside the script, rewriting it in ways that work for them in their own intimate relationships, or finding wider communities where alternative expressions of sexuality are encouraged and supported."(84)

"Compulsory sexuality describes a collection of discourses, ideas and practices. These include the idea that sexual attraction is natural and something that all humans experience, that it is necessary in order to live a full life and relate to others in appropriate ways, and that sexual and romantic attraction (as well as a variety of other kinds of attraction) necessarily go together."(90-91)

"The association between allosexuality and “normality” or “humanity” means that a discourse of desexualization can be used as a means of social control against marginalized groups. By constructing some groups as non-sexual, they are declared deviant, other, or something less than human. There is a wealth of research that has shown how this discourse is leveraged, for instance against older and disabled people, Asian men, and fat people." [mijn nadruk] (91)

"While some groups are desexualized, others can be hypersexualized and fetishized. This applies, for instance, to black women and men, Asian women, and bisexual people. Hypersexualization is just as harmful to individuals’ ability to exercise sexual agency as desexualization, as it makes members of hypersexualized groups more prone to sexual harassment and violence."(93)

"This highlights the way our choices and available courses of action are shaped by society. It may be tempting to reduce these operations of power to one dimension (gender) and one direction (men oppressing women), and this is the position held by some radical feminists. But it is obvious from the examples discussed in this chapter that reality is much more complex than that. Power is indeed multi-directional and multi-dimensional, and it is impossible to disentangle our apparently autonomous decisions and choices from our social context."(94)

[Geweldig, goed neergezet. ]

(97) 5 - Culture and consent

"Where do we learn about sex and consent? Sex and relationships education for many of us continues to be woefully inadequate.(...) The situation in the United States is even worse"(97)

[Zeg dat wel. ]

"Because culture serves as our main sex educator, it attracts scrutiny and critique in general, and some specific cultural forms have come under fire. There are concerns about the messages contained in everything from romance novels to hardcore pornography about what normal sex, romance, healthy relationships, and consent look like."(100)

"In this chapter, then, we will take a look at the role popular culture plays in shaping our ideas of sex, sexuality, and consent. We will specifically examine romance novels, pornography, and sex advice literature, as well as touch on some of the good, the bad, and the ugly from across other forms of culture."(100)

"While this strand of thought has a history going back to the 1970s, the simplistic causal link between pornography and sexual violence has by and large been discredited."(101)

"If you grow up thinking that porn sex is normal sex you may not have the tools to negotiate the kind of sex that works for you."(101)

"Over the last twenty years or so, there has been a shift in cultural studies from talking about “pornography” to talking about “pornographies.” This reflects a growing understanding..."

"We cannot reduce the meanings or effects of all of these diverse materials to simple statements such as “this causes violence” or “this reproduces rape culture and limits individuals’ ability to negotiate consent.” What, then, are some of the possible alternative meanings we make with pornography, and how might they shape our views and relate to our ability to meaningfully consent to sex?"(103)

"Pornography is neither monolithic, nor universally harmful. Viewing it and engaging with it can be a complex, multilayered experience for anyone. Some pornography, for some viewers, may indeed reproduce the dominant sexual scripts that prop up rape culture. Equally though, some types of pornography, for some viewers, can be hugely empowering. It may reflect our identities and experiences, help us explore our sexuality, help us exercise sexual agency and bodily autonomy, and challenge and rewrite dominant scripts of what sex is and how it should work." [mijn nadruk] (105)

"As romance novels are predominantly aimed at and read by women audiences, the messages they send about what an ideal romantic relationship looks like are a target of feminist scrutiny."(108)

"What messages, then, do the women reading romance novels take away from this? Early popular romance scholars argue that the reader closely identifies with the heroine, and that, as a result, she learns from these books to recode the cruel and aggressive behavior of the men in her own life as a sign of love and affection. According to this view, romance novels help women adapt to (and accept) the demands patriarchy puts on them in their day-­to-­day lives."(110)

"And, of course, this trope has wider reach than just romance novels. The idea that “boys will be boys” and show affection to girls by “pulling pigtails”—­teasing them and being hurtful—­is something children are frequently taught in the playground. Here too, setting and main- taining boundaries is discouraged." [mijn nadruk] (110)

"So what does sex advice literature have to say on the subject of consent? The authors of Mediated Intimacy: Sex Advice in Media Culture investigated precisely this question by looking at a range of books, newspaper problem pages, and websites, and the results are dispiriting to say the least. Consent as a topic or even index entry is almost completely absent from sex advice books. Not only that, but sex advice literature reproduces many of the problematic and harmful discourses about sex that we discussed in chapter 4, and that make consent such a thorny issue." [mijn nadruk] (113)

"The one context in which mainstream sex advice literature does acknowledge that there may be pressures involved that can affect individuals’ ability to freely consent is in the context of sex advice for young people.(...) The discrepancy between sex advice for young people, which emphasizes social factors and pressures when it comes to consent, and that for adults, which actively reproduces those exact social pressures, is striking. Yet maybe there is a silver lining here, in that today’s young people are tomorrow’s adults."(115)

"In these ways popular culture reproduces and reinforces the dominant sexual script and the primacy of penile-­vaginal intercourse as the sexual act that “counts.” Like other instances and reproductions of this script, this makes it more difficult to imagine and negotiate alternatives that may work better for us as individuals, taking us instead down one particular path regardless of our consent."(117-118)

"We all bring different experiences to our readings of media, resulting in different interpretations. What one person finds empowering may be oppressive to another."(126)

(127) 6 - Consent knowledges, consent activisms

"In this chapter, therefore, we will explore where cutting-edge thought on consent comes from today. We will see that the line between knowledge creation and activism is frequently blurred, as finding the vocabulary to challenge dominant discourses is a first and necessary step toward creating lasting change."(128)

"Like with traditional consciousness-raising groups, one key activity in feminist online communities is the sharing of individual lived experience." [mijn nadruk] (130)

[Maar dat is ook gevaarlijk. Wat mensen zeggen is lang niet altijd waar en er gaat altijd ook druk uit van dat soort gemeenschappen om te geloven in bepaalde mythen.]

"Some communities, particularly intersectional feminists, prison abolitionists, and anarchists, have therefore started thinking about how sexual violence and consent violations can be addressed without getting the law involved, and putting into practice processes rooted in ideas of transformative justice. Transformative justice is an evolving framework that seeks to repair any harm caused by a transgression rather than punish a perpetrator."(138)

[Dit hoofdstuk verder gescand. Veel is erg Amerikaans.]

(153) 7 - #metoo—­now what?

"When the African American activist Tarana Burke coined the phrase “me too” in 2006, she was seeking to give victims of sexual violence a voice, and a way to relate to each other. She calls this “empowerment through empathy”: when survivors exchange that phrase, they say to each other, “I believe you, I know what you are going through.” In a culture that systematically disbelieves victims of sexual violence, that one phrase in and of itself wields immense power."(153)

[De vraag of dat wel waar is en of je die ander wel echt begrijpt wordt niet eens gesteld. Dat ligt helemaal niet zo simpel. ]

"With its newfound global visibility, Burke has expressed concerns that the message of the #MeToo movement is getting derailed and diluted."(153)

[Dat kan ik me heel goed voorstellen.]

"All of which begs the question: Where do we go from here? What does longterm, sustainable, meaningful change look like? How do we dismantle rape culture? How do we build a culture of consent? And what are the pitfalls along the way?"(156)

[Dat lijken me de goede vragen. ]

"Further reforms to how sexual assault victims are treated by the criminal justice system—­from reporting to trial and beyond—­are therefore urgently needed."(159)

"Another key area of victims’ interaction with the criminal justice system in need of improvement is the collection and processing of forensic evidence.It is also questionable to what extent rape kit evidence makes a difference to the outcome of rape trials at all. Although it can potentially help identify an unknown attacker, the vast majority of victims of sexual assault know the perpetrator. Moreover, forensic evidence rarely has anything to say about the key issue of consent. So, although in some cases it may prove that sexual contact with a particular person occurred, it cannot shed any light on whether that contact was consensual or not." [mijn nadruk] (160)

"Any legal reform campaign on sexual violence needs to examine as well how the legal system reproduces not only rape culture but also other existing forms of oppression, such as racism, heteronormativity and queerphobia, and other social inequalities, which affect the treatment of both victims and defendants."(161)

[Ga er maar aanstaan... ]

"The criminal justice system has a long history not only of letting down victims of sexual violence but also of reproducing other forms of oppression and inequalities. This needs to be addressed before it can be considered fit for purpose in dealing with issues of sexual violence. In the longer term, a focus on transformative justice rather than punishment may be a significantly more appropriate way for the law to tackle sexual violence than its current approaches."(162)

"Another important area to consider in terms of cultural practices is what we teach children and young people about bodily autonomy and consent in day-­to-­day life—­ both through conversations and formal education, but also through how we treat them."(165)

"Our formal education systems also need to address consent. Compulsory, comprehensive, and inclusive sex and relationships education at all levels that not only covers but also centers consent is only a starting point here. We also need to interrogate how the structures of our educational systems impact individual autonomy, and how gendered differences in the treatment of children andyoung people in schools may reproduce rape culture." [mijn nadruk] (166-167)

"Beyond everyday cultural practices, popular culture is a key vehicle for reproducing ideas about gender, sexuality, and consent, and therefore it, too, has a key role to play in dismantling rape culture and creating a culture of consent."(167)

"Rape culture is part of a wider set of systems of power and oppression. Patriarchy, capitalism, racism, ableism, cis-­and heteronormativity, and compulsory sexuality—­ and the people who benefit from these systems—­all rely on a culture that obscures and dismisses boundary violations, that uses sexuality to construct some of us as less or more human than others, that blames and re-traumatizes the victims of sexual violence while enabling perpetrators. Oppressive systems have a long history of resisting change, and a range of tactics available to them for doing so." [mijn nadruk] (170)

[Dat is zeker waar. ]

"While mainstream media has not been quite so crass in the wake of the #MeToo campaign, the underlying discourse of ridicule that constructs consent negotiation as legalistic, too complex, or sucking all the fun out of sex has indeed been a staple of more recent commentators’ repertoire. "(172)

"Some feminist, liberal, and left-­wing commentators have also suggested that the #MeToo movement is leading to a sex panic. They raise two key concerns. The first is that a focus on sexual violence may contribute to an atmosphere where sex is increasingly policed, enabling more reactionary and conservative ideas about sex to thrive while having an oppressive effect on queer people and non-normative sexual practices. The second concern is that in dealing with allegations of sexual violence and misconduct, due process and the law seem to have been circumvented in a number of cases—­for instance, in Kevin Spacey’s—­with alleged perpetrators being suspended or fired from their jobs." [mijn nadruk] (177)

"As to due process and the law, even commentators wary of circumventing it, like Masha Gessen, admit that the law does not treat sexual violence in the same way as other crimes, and that the standard of proof in sexual violence cases is effectively higher. We need to be wary of holding up the law as the ultimate arbiter of sexual violence and consent. Here, a focus on supporting survivors and working toward long-­term cultural change, while decentering the law and looking toward transformative justice, would arguably be better approaches." [mijn nadruk] (178)

[Dat is een zwak antwoord. Het gaat erom dat mensen als X al schuldig bevonden worden voordat de beweringen van iemand over X getoetst zijn op waarheid. ]