This frightening information comes from a new peer-reviewed study published on Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA.  

The study estimates that the rapes resulting in the staggering number of pregnancies occurred between July 1, 2022 and January 2024, in states where abortion has been almost completely banned. 

Out of the nearly 65,000 pregnancies, its estimated more than 5,500 occurred in states with rape exceptions and nearly 59,000 are estimated for states without exceptions.

Researchers found that more than 26,000 rape-caused pregnancies likely took place in Texas alone. 

In the states with rape exceptions for abortions – Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, West Virginia and North Dakota – survivors are required to report crimes to police in order to access abortion services. Research from 2022 has shown only 21 per cent of victim-survivors do so. 

“Thousands of girls and women in states that banned abortion experienced rape-related pregnancy, but few (if any) obtained in-state abortions legally, suggesting that rape exceptions fail to provide reasonable access to abortion for survivors,” researchers concluded.

“Survivors of rape who become pregnant in states with abortion bans may seek a self-managed abortion or try to travel (often hundreds of miles) to a state where abortion is legal, leaving many without a practical alternative to carrying the pregnancy to term.”

The Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling ended the constitutional right to abortion across America that the landmark Roe v. Wade 1973 ruling guaranteed. 

“Highly stigmatized life events are hard to measure. And many survivors of sexual violence do not want to disclose that they went through this incredibly stigmatizing traumatic life event,” said Samuel Dickman, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of Montana, who led the latest study. 

“We will never know the true number of survivors of rape and sexual assault in the U.S.”

Data collection 

Researchers calculated the findings by combining data from multiple sources, including national data from a U.S Ceners for Disease Control and Prevention survey on intimate partner sexual violence from 2016 to 2017. 

The researchers also used a Bureau of Justice Statistics survey on criminal victimization to help determine the number of completed vaginal rapes among girls and women of reproductive age (defined as 15 to 45 years old). State-level rape estimates came from FBI crime reports as state-level data wasn’t available.

Considering that stigma and fear prevents many people from reporting rapes and sexual assaults, the authors noted that the numbers could be lower than reality.

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According to a report from the University of Newcastle, women in the Northern Rivers were subjected to high levels of violence and sexual assaults, resulting in unplanned pregnancies.

The researchers – Associate Professor Wendy Foote, Professor Margaret Alston, Dr David Betts and Dr Tracy McEwan – said the emergency centres established in response to the floods did not adequately consider the safety of women and children.

They suggested separation of men and women and children in emergency centres, as well as more triaging, would have avoided the increased rates of gender-based violence and sexual assaults.

MSI Australia, a leading reproductive healthcare clinic in Australia, provides contraception and abortion care to people and communities who have been affected by climate-related disasters.

Head of Policy and Research at MSI Australia Bonney Corbin told Women’s Agenda unplanned and unwanted pregnancies can often go unnoticed during times of crisis, including during climate-related disasters.

“There’s an assumption that we don’t have sex when we’re displaced, but the evidence shows that both rape and sexual activity increases in times of emergency,” Corbin said.

“When we are displaced, we lose routine, and we’re more likely to forget where we are at in our menstrual cycle. Pregnancy can go unnoticed.

“Dissociation following sexual violence and rape can mean that victim-survivors delay making choices about their pregnancy.”

Following the February 2022 floods in northern NSW, MSI Australia clinics were providing care to some women who did not realise they were pregnant until they were beyond nine weeks in pregnancy gestation. This meant they could no longer access medical abortion care and were only able to access surgical abortion.

The financial impacts of a climate-related disasters can also impede a person’s ability to access abortion care, as well as a range of other compounding factors that arise during times of crises.

“Some people realise they are pregnant and want to have an abortion, but are in financial distress with other priorities of food and accommodation, so can’t afford to pay out of pocket abortion costs,” Corbin said.

“Following the floods we provided care to women who had delayed accessing an abortion by a number of weeks.”

It is never a victim’s job to prepare for or prevent rape from happening, Corbin said, but the solution to unplanned and unwanted pregnancies is access to the “full spectrum” of healthcare: products, information and services.

“People need access to long-acting reversible contraception all year round, so that they already have access to contraception when disaster hits,” Corbin said.

“Access to health services is important but it isn’t enough. We need access to the spectrum of health products, and information that people need for reproductive autonomy.

“In the aftermath of a disaster, people need immediate access to health products including condoms, menstrual management, dental dams, pregnancy tests.”

A study from the United Nations Population Fund in 2022 found nearly half of all pregnancies around the world are unplanned or unwanted. This equates to around 121 million pregnancies every year, due to gender inequality, lack of sex education, poverty, limited healthcare services and more.

Rates of unplanned pregnancies spike in times of crisis – not just environmental crises, but also times of war, conflict, food insecurity and more. It is expected that in Afghanistan alone, by 2025, there will be an estimated 4.8 million unintended pregnancies.

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Organisers of the vigil released a statement saying that prominent female advocacy groups such as the United Nations, Australia’s #MeToo movement and progressive politicians have failed to respond appropriately to the sexual crimes committed by Hamas against Israeli women on October 7. 

“The scepticism and gaslighting of Israeli women and children who were violently raped and tortured contravenes the very tenets of these activists and organisations– namely, to support and believe all victims,” said the organisers’ statement.

Hundreds of attendees joined the event, including Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the Australian academic who was held in an Iranian prison for 804 days. 

Approximately 500 of the women wore white shirts with the messages “No Excuse” and “We Believe Them”, according to the Age. And many wore tape over their mouths to protest the perceived silence from advocacy groups, while holding signs that said “#MeToo Unless you’re a Jew”. 

The UN announced last week that they would commence an inquiry into war crimes on both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict and that the scope of the investigation would extend to the “numerous accounts” of sexual violence by Hamas that have yet to be officially verified. 

UN Women has released a statement on the situation in Gaza and Israel, saying that “all women, Palestinian women, as all others, are entitled to a life lived in safety and free from violence.

“We unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October. We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks. This is why we have called for all accounts of gender-based violence to be duly investigated and prosecuted, with the rights of the victim at the core.”

On December 2, United Nations Women wrote on social media: “We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks.”

Event organisers at Melbourne’s vigil cited this post, saying it failed to explicitly reference Israeli women and that the efforts were “too little”, “too late” and “not enough”.

Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson, who was in attendance at the vigil, wrote on social media that she was concerned “that it took UN Women 57 days to condemn the atrocities committed against Jewish and Israeli women on 7 October.”

Moore-Gilbert, who was imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges until November 2020, spoke at the Melbourne vigil, saying she wanted to acknowledge the deaths of innocent women and children in Gaza as well as the “horrific, unspeakable” sexual violence against Israelis. 

“It is excruciatingly painful to watch some Western feminists and international organisations tie themselves in knots attempting to minimise, quantify or, even worse, justify” sexual violence on October 7, she said.

Georgina Williams, the chair of UN Women Australia, was also reportedly in attendance but did not speak.

Israel says Hamas killed 1200 people and took 240 hostages on October 7. Since then, about 105 hostages have been released over a seven-day ceasefire last week. According to data from the UN, more than 14,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). 

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Such is the warning of sexual assault survivor-advocate Harrison James, as he campaigns for legislative change to end character references for convicted child sexual abuse perpetrators.

It follows the murder of Lilie James at the hands of a man described as a “role model” and an “absolute delight” by the principal of the school he attended, who also said “he appeared to be just like the best of us”.

“He” being a person alleged to have bashed his former girlfriend to death with a hammer to the skull and face, before jumping off a cliff himself to avoid any living consequences.

What a delight.

Predators are beloved too

The reality is, even serial rapists with 31 victims can be called “a kind-hearted hero and a father figure” by their family who “had no idea” and “were beyond shocked”. 

In recent months, convicted rapist-by-force, Danny Masterson, also received glowing character references from two of his former That 70s Show co-stars seeking to minimise his sentence.

In legal letters, Ashton Kutcher declared that Masterson “always treated people with decency, equality, and generosity”, while Mila Kunis gushed that the convicted rapist “demonstrates grace and empathy in every situation”.

I have no doubt that every word of these glowing references is true. 

I also have no doubt that Masterson is still a rapist.

Because it is entirely possible for a man to be both a great friend and colleague, or a loving family man, and still be a vicious sexual predator. Predators, abusers, and rapists are rarely the dark and shady trope we see on TV or in movies. 

The truth is they are our brothers, fathers, colleagues, friends, that lovely guy who serves us coffee each morning. They walk amongst us, smiling politely. 

They do not reveal their capacity for violence in every interaction or relationship. This skill is often how they groom their victims in the first place.

My first rapist was lovely

In the moments before my first rapist turned his comments about my clothing into devastating actions, my eight-year-old self had two distinct thoughts.

First was “his eyes are blue like mine”. Second was “he’s never done this before”, even though I didn’t quite know what “this” was going to be. 

He was softly nervous. Gentle, even. Until he wasn’t.

Even now, I could picture the man who first presented to me coaching a local soccer team, or being a (publicly) loving dad to young children. 

He could probably corral a whole handful of glowing character references too, had I understood what had happened to me, and had the ability to report him!

Change begins at home

The reality is the vast majority of sexual assault – 97 percent in Australia – is perpetrated by men.

So when I found out several years ago that my pregnancy would result in a baby boy, my heart both sighed with relief and seized up in fear.

On the one hand, I know firsthand how dangerous it is to occupy a woman’s body in this world. My body has been taken from me on dozens of occasions, used for stolen pleasure while I experienced excruciating pain. 

I was relieved it wasn’t a girl, because my role as her protector would be overwhelming.

But my body wasn’t taken from me on so many occasions by an unnamed, unknown faceless force. It was taken from me by men.

And these men were also at one point a tiny foetus in a mother’s womb, ready to burst into the world helpless, innocent, and cherished beyond words. 

So to love my precious baby boy fiercely means to face the reality that he is statistically more likely to commit sexual assault, than to be falsely accused of it.

Despite false reports of abuse being a common trope in fiction – and a staggering one in five Australians believing women routinely invent or exaggerate claims – the data does not support this fear.

“False” reporting of sexual assault actually sits somewhere between 2 and 7 percent of all reports, which is slightly lower than false reporting for other types of crimes. But, unlike other crime types, these numbers are wildly inflated by the inclusion of reports withdrawn out of fear or trauma, or cases that have gone unproven.

So to help all of our boys grow into their most enriched self means rejecting these myths and instead teaching them accountability from the earliest of ages, all the way up through to adulthood.

It means, as a society, loving them by refusing to jump to defend the indefensible, at the expense of victims now and into the future.

As both a rape victim and the mother of a loved-beyond-words beautiful son, this must happen for both of us.

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In Queensland, accused sex offenders can now be named before they’re committed to stand trial. This comes after changes to the state’s Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act that came into effect on Tuesday.

The unnamed man’s case has been mentioned in court since January, but under previous legislation, his identity was suppressed. 

The alleged victim in the rape case has told prosecutors she wants the man to be identified under these new state laws. 

However, on Friday, the man’s lawyer, Rowan King, successfully obtained a Supreme Court injunction– an interim measure to keep the man’s identity suppressed until the matter could be fully heard in Toowoomba. 

Magistrate Kay Philipson criticised the man’s legal team for several actions– seeking a similar order in the supreme court last week without telling her, not following a direction to provide notice for the new application and not providing supporting material in a timely manner. 

It was also revealed in court that the defendant had been seeing a psychologist, who provided a letter mentioning suicidal ideation. This letter formed part of his suppression order application, however, Philipson said there was nothing substantial in the letter to support its claims.

“This is nothing more than a letter of comfort,” she said. “There’s nothing on how the psychologist arrived at the diagnosis nor what effects of being identified will be and how they are going to impact him.”

King said he’d wanted to submit a more substantive report on his client’s health but it had not been ready on time. 

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedwald said she opposed granting the interim. Barrister Jessica Goldie, who represented several media companies including the Guardian Australia, Nine TV network, Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian and Courier-Mail newspapers, also opposed. 

Philipson granted the interim non-publication order, saying she needed to weigh up the public interest and principle of open justice versus any special vulnerabilities of the alleged victim and defendant as well as the potential to prejudice any future trial.

An application on a permanent order could be heard on 13 October. 

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Masterson, an actor known for his role in That ‘70’s Show, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in a Los Angeles court last week for the rape of two women 20 years ago.

After Masterson was found guilty of the crimes in May, Kutcher and Kunis wrote character letters for the judge to take “full consideration relative to the sentencing”.

“We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson,” Kutcher said in a joint apology video with Kunis posted on his Instagram account yesterday.

“A couple of months ago, Danny’s family reached out to us and they asked us to write character letters to represent the person that we knew for 25 years.”

Kutcher’s wife of seven years, Mila Kunis, said their hearts go out to all victims of sexual assault, sexual abuse and rape.

“We support victims. We have done this historically through our work and we will continue to do so in the future,” she said.

The celebrity couple said the letters were not intended to question the judicial system’s legitimacy, dismiss the jury’s verdict or re-traumatise victims.

“We would never do that, and we are sorry if that has taken place,” Kutcher said.

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A post shared by Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk)

‘Just as sick.’

Actor Chrissie Carnell Bixler, who worked alongside Masterson, Kutcher and Kunis on That 70’s Show, was one of the three women who accused Masterson of rape.

In a statement on her Instagram story, Bixler said Kutcher was “just as sick” as her alleged perpetrator. The actor said she knows the “secrets” that Masterson “keeps for [Kutcher]”, a “plan” discussed in an alleged phone call in February 2001.

“I heard the plan. In my opinion, you’re just as sick as your ‘mentor’,” Bixler said.

“If that’s what you view as a normal relationship with a ‘big brother figure’ then I feel very sad for you, and I hope you consider getting into therapy.

“You all must forget I was there the whole time those first 5 years of That 70’s Show. I remember everything.”

Speaking directly to Kunis, Bixler said she knew of an alleged event that occurred between Kutcher and Masterson “in Toronto and after”.

While the jury found Masterson guilty over the other two allegations of rape, the jury dismissed the case brought forward by Bixler, his former girlfriend.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chrissie Carnell Bixler (@chrissiebixler)

‘Integrity, compassion and respect for others.’

Kutcher’s character letter described Masterson as a “good friend”, “role model” and “dedicated and loyal husband”.

“Not only is he a good friend to me, I’ve witnessed him be a good friend to others and the kind of brother others would be lucky to have,” he wrote.

Kunis spoke of Masterson’s “extraordinary” role as a father to his nine-year-old daughter.

“Witnessing his interactions with his daughter has been heartwarming and enlightening,” she said.

“As a father, he leads by example, instilling in her values that reflect integrity, compassion and respect for others.”

Masterson, a prominent scientologist, has been in custody since May. It is understood he met the two women he raped through the Scientology Church.

In a statement from his lawyer, Shawn Holley, Masterson maintains his innocence.

“Mr Masterson did not commit the crimes for which he was convicted,” his lawyer said.

“The errors which occurred in this case are substantial and unfortunately led to verdicts which were not supported by the evidence.

“And though we have great respect for the jury and for our system of justice, sometimes they get it wrong and that’s what happened here.”

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or click here.

If you are in immediate danger call 000. If you need mental health support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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A prominent scientologist, Masterson has been in custody since May, with prosecutors arguing he used his role in the Church of Scientology to avoid accountability for the attacks.

Masterson met the two women through the Church, and his accusers said the organisation discouraged them from contacting law enforcement. Both attacks took place in Masterson’s Hollywood-area home, where the women said he drugged and raped them between 2001 and 2003–when he was at the height of his fame on the That ‘70s Show sitcom.

There was a third allegation that Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend but the jury could not reach a verdict on this. 

Each of the women Masterson was found guilty of raping gave testimony in court on the trauma they experienced, with one of them saying: “When you raped me, you stole from me”.

“That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”

“You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent,” said the first woman. “The world is better off with you in prison.”

With Masterson’s wife, actor Bijou Phillips present and tearful at times, it’s been reported he watched without visible reaction as the two women spoke. 

The second woman Masterson’s been found guilty of raping told the judge that she wished she’d reported him to the police sooner and that he “has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused”.

“I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with,” she said. “I am so sorry, and I’m so upset.”

The second woman was supported by former Scientologist and vocal critic of the organisation, King of Queens actor Leah Remini, who said she’s “relieved that this dangerous rapist will be off the streets.”

Masterson waived his right to speak before he was sentenced and had no visible reaction after the judge’s decision.

“Mr Masterson, I know that you’re sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence, and thus no doubt feeling victimised by a justice system that has failed you,” Superior Court Judge Charlaine F Olmedo told Masterson before handing down the sentence. 

“But Mr Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s voice, and choice. One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences.”

Masterson’s sentence was the maximum allowed by law and means he’ll be eligible for parole after serving 25-and-a-half years, but could be held in prison for life. 

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or click here.

If you are in immediate danger call 000. If you need mental health support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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The 2021 National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) copped backlash for being run during the pandemic lockdowns when most students were not on campus. 

That survey had found one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since starting university, and that on average, 275 students were sexually assaulted in university settings each week. One in six reported being sexually harassed.

On Wednesday afternoon following a caucus meeting, Universities Australia chairman Professor David Lloyd said the peak body was “committed to revisiting and advancing an appropriately redesigned survey, to be rolled out in 2024.”

In a statement released on the peak body’s site, Prof Lloyd described the meeting as a “fulsome and constructive discussion on the issue of sexual harm in Australian universities.”

“Members are unanimous in our acceptance that while much is being done in this domain, much more is required of us collectively,” he said.

“Our members are committed to continuing to run tailored and individual campus-based activities in 2024, similar to initiatives such as the existing ‘Respect at Uni Week’ delivered by Victorian universities.”

“There was agreement across the membership that individual universities have strong understandings of their own unique demographics, campuses and students, which is why they are best placed to continue building on the extensive work undertaken to date.”

“We recognise that one-size-fits-all intervention strategies do not translate to broad benefit in this most difficult of domains. We are committed to revisiting and advancing an appropriately redesigned survey, to be rolled out in 2024.”

According to Prof Lloyd, the survey will be “guided by contemporary best practice and research, to establish a solid baseline against which we can measure the effectiveness of our actions and interventions.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Education Minister Jason Clare criticised universities for not doing enough to tackle the issue of violence on campus.

“The actions universities have taken to address sexual assault and harassment on campuses to date have not been good enough,” he said.

“We have the research. We have the evidence. We have to act. It is clear that university governing bodies must do more.”

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said that universities should be required to publish data in relation to complaints of student safety, including sexual assaults.

“Without data, progress is uncertain and evidence-based policies to combat this serious issue are much harder to formulate,” she told the press.

“More research into campus sexual assault and the effectiveness of different prevention strategies is essential if we are to ensure all students are safe on campus.”

The NSSS was funded in 2017 by Universities Australia, the peak body representing Australia’s university sector, and was supposed to be repeated every three years, as per its recommendations. 

Universities Australia has been criticised by student safety advocates for recently dropping a $1.5m campaign on consent, and for its inaction to alleged sexual violence at institutions.

Lloyd’s announcement on Wednesday coincided with the federal government’s appointment of Patty Kinnersly as lead advisor to a working body that will review sexual assault on campus as well as provide advice on how universities can develop safer campuses for students and staff.

Kinnersly, the chief of the violence against women prevention organisation, Our Watch will lead the working group as the expert advisor to help the government find ways to bolster university governance.

Prof Lloyd welcomed Kinnersly’s appointment, saying his organisation is “committed to working with Patty Kinnersly in her capacity as the expert adviser to the working group advising the government on ways to strengthen university governance.” 

“We have a significant issue in our institutions which we have to step up on and be accountable for and we cannot do enough to actually engage to deliver better outcomes for our students,” he said.

“This will help with the development of a suite of evidence-based actions in the near term for our members to access and individually implement.”

Kinnersly’s group will start work next week.

Shadow minister for education, Sarah Henderson welcomed Kinnersly’s appointment, describing the CEO as a “leader in her field” who could help guide future reforms in the sector.

“Universities need to take much stronger action to combat sexual assault and harassment on their campuses,” she said on Wednesday. “All university students deserve to be safe in lecture theatres, on campus grounds and in residential colleges.”

The issue of sexual assault on campus formed part of the Universities Accord interim report, which looked at reformations in the higher education sector. It described the current approaches to reducing the incidence of sexual assault and harassment on campus as “inadequate.” The final report will be returned to the government later this year. 

Today, the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research released a trial transcript analysis that revealed complainants are often fighting against archaic myths and stereotypes about how they should react as victims of a “real rape”.

The report analysed the experiences of complainants in the NSW District Court using transcripts from 75 trials across six years. 

“Many of the myths and stereotypes that research suggests are still operative in trials relate to how closely the rape approximates … a ‘real rape’, where the act is perpetrated by a stranger; is committed in a public place; results in injuries or involves a weapon,” the study found. 

“This is in spite of the fact that most rapes do not occur under these circumstances.”

“Complainants who were intoxicated at the time of the alleged offences faced additional scrutiny, including suggestions of “drunken consent” and unreliability based on impaired recall.” 

The study concluded that “greater improvement in the experience of complainants will require change to entrenched trial practices and narratives that are out of step with the spirit of the statutory reforms.” 

Stop the cycle of violence. If you are concerned about your behaviour, or about someone using violence, call Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.  

If you or someone you know is in need of help due to sexual assault or family and domestic violence contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732

In an emergency call 000. Lifeline (13 11 14) and, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 13YARN (13 92 76)

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A form of sexual assault, stealthing refers to non-consensually removing a condom during sex – an act that one in three women have been the victim of, according to a 2018 Monash University study of 2000 people. 

In a move that many advocates have been holding their breath for, a bill to outlaw stealthing passed yesterday in SA parliament’s upper house, and is now set to pass the lower house with government support. 

SA Best MP Connie Bonaros first introduced the bill to ensure that those found guilty of the “repugnant and disgusting act of betrayal” would face criminal punishment in line with the actions of rape. 

She said stealthing is “more common than most people believe.”

The new legislation will make anyone found guilty of the crime of stealthing to face a punishment of up to life in prison. 

“It should have been criminalised years ago,” said Bonaros.   

“Such grotesque acts of indecency deserve to be treated in the same manner as rape and a crime punishable by terms of imprisonment.”

As for the public opinion of stealthing, The Australia Institute’s research found that although as few as 15 per cent of Australians are familiar with the term, 81 per cent of people supported its criminalisation once they understood what the act entails.

The research report also notes the impact this form of sexual assault can have on victims, stating: “Stealthing puts individuals at risk of unintended pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Survivors of stealthing may also experience psychological trauma and feelings of guilt and shame.”

There are now five jurisdictions in Australia that have criminalised stealthing and many advocates such as the Director of the Australia Institute’s Center for Sex and Gender Equality, Chanel Contos, are calling on the remaining three– Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory– to do the same.

Having the law recognise stealthing as a criminal act will help to ensure that people engaging in the activity can be charged with sexual offences.

The amendment to the criminal law consolidation act defines stealthing as having occurred if a “person agrees to engage in the activity because of a misrepresentation (whether express or implied) as to the use of a condom during the activity.”

The SA government committed to backing Bonaros’s bill early on and Attorney-General Kyam Maher echoes Bonaros’s concerns, calling stealthing an “insidious practice” that many advocates have been calling “to criminalise under state law to make sure we’re explicitly ruling this as a crime.”

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Now to be fair, I had asked for the rape alarm – and frankly, were I to be gifted a fishing rod, I may have used it to poke my eye out (privately, of course).

Two years earlier, I had moved out of home and across the state to attend university. It was a terrifying move, but the hardest surprise for me was the consistent state of anxiety I felt any time I was out past dark. In a storyline parallel to Princess Fiona and her initial fear of nightfall on the journey back to marry Lord Farquaard, I too would scurry into the nearest cave, style a make-shift door from bark and lock myself inside until the sun rose. Metaphorically speaking.

Only, instead of transforming into a “hideous, ugly beast”, there was the risk of…well, you know, severe bodily harm, a loss of autonomy, assault, rape, murder etc. etc.

I remember dreading the days my classes finished late, anxiously awaiting my 9pm bus home; earphones plugged in but no music playing. Once I’d arrived at my dimly lit bus stop, the worst part had would only just begin: a 15-minute walk to my share-house. This path wound its way between several streets, past a handful of construction sites and lastly, through an unlit park.

Nothing ever happened to me, but every week I’d have to steel myself for that trip home. Whether or not I had basis for that anxiety is rather irrelevant; the statistics speak for themselves.

The year of 18^th birthday parties was also the year of being non-consensually groped on dirty nightclub dance floors. Amongst the sickly vodka mixers and newfound, exhilarating freedom came an unshakeable sense of foreboding every time another friend celebrated their milestone.

Throughout the same year, a trip to get groceries meant almost always being catcalled by passing truck drivers, as I crossed the busy road between my house and the local Coles. I was left standing on the edge of the street like a deer in the headlights; anxiously pulling on my clothes and wishing desperately to be invisible.

If feeling uneasy was the worst of it though, you were one of the lucky ones. That year also marked the first time a friend disclosed a sexual assault experience to me, whispered in hushed tones across the passenger seat of my car. Just like that, the first domino had tumbled.

I stood helplessly as one by one, my friend’s fell victim to another man’s entitlement, hearing about it weeks, months or years later as they brought their story to me. Quietly. Questioning.

I watched as they grappled with what had happened to them, their lives irrevocably split in two: before the assault, and after it. Meanwhile, the person who did it just carried on – often joyfully oblivious to the harm they had caused. More than once, they’d go on to refer to themselves as “good blokes”. What makes a good bloke, I wonder?

My name is Hannah. I’m 23. And I’m sick of my friends being raped. I’m sick of carrying my keys between my fingers. I’m sick of hearing these stories, time and time again. I’ve had enough.

As with anything though, you cannot change something, unless you understand it. Rape culture is an insidious, far-reaching beast, baked into the very fabric of our society. It’s a poisonous concoction brewed by the patriarchy itself; a mix of outdated gender roles, cultural norms, social expectations and in the words of Jess Hill, an underlying, simmering contempt for women.

I have spent the last eight months in a deep dive on rape culture in Australia; carefully peeling back each layer of the issue until I met the root. 

What I’ve found has been equal parts shocking and affirming; heartening and heartbreaking – an experience chronicled in the new eight-part investigative podcast, ‘Asking For It’.

At its conclusion, I wish I could say that I’m now embracing the Princess Fiona story arc; throwing caution to the wind and stepping into fear, regardless of the consequences. But I’m not. I continue to modify my behaviour in a desperate attempt to keep myself safe. Like Fiona, it is the curse we live with and simply knowing why will not magically lift it.

Instead, it is a process of slow unpicking. And ironically, after centuries of imposed domestic work and homemaking, that’s something I believe we’re pretty good at.

You can listen to Asking For It on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Since Brittany Higgins’ rape claim at Parliament House made headlines last month, I’ve been hyper aware of every #BreakingNews hashtag, glued to my phone, watching every painful press conference, stuck in an endless Twitter scroll.  

When a second woman – and third and fourth – came forward with further allegations against the accused Liberal staffer, the headlines hit like sucker punches.

Except they weren’t sucker punches because I instinctively knew they were coming. When Higgins so courageously shared her story three weeks ago, she shattered the cone of silence surrounding Australia’s sexual assault crisis. And let’s be clear, this is a crisis, one that runs deeper than the cases currently in the news.

The saddest part of the Higgins case, and the Cabinet Minister rape allegation that emerged over the weekend, is that I’m not shocked by them.

According to Our Watch, one in five Australian women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. According to every woman I know or have had drunken DNMs with, that number is a lot higher.

Walking down the street, I notice the tense shoulders and clenched jaws of the women passing me.  

When news stories about sexual assault break, they can shake us in unexpected ways. For survivors – and their friends, relatives and supporters – the rolling coverage of the past three weeks may have been overwhelming, exhausting and rage-inducing.

Clinical psychologist Mary Gregory says that discussions around sexual assault often mark a rise in requests for help. “Anytime there’s a rape reported in the media, there’s an increase in people experiencing post traumatic stress symptoms,” explains Gregory.

The fallout is different for everyone, but can include feelings of anger, anxiety, self-blame, guilt, exhaustion and numbness. Then there’s the flashbacks, trouble sleeping, self-harm and substance abuse.

“When survivors hear these stories, it can be re-traumatising and bring back their experience,” says Gregory. “For others, it can also reconceptualise an experience they had. A lot of women and men believe that if you didn’t say ‘no’, it wasn’t rape. And now they’re starting to look back on experiences in a new light and understanding what happened to them wasn’t right.”

Moreover, the lazy and ignorant tropes that often follow rape allegations (you know the ones: “He said, she said,” “Boys will be boys,” “Not all men”) can be harmful. “Comments about the victim’s state or clothing are invalidating for people who’ve experienced sexual assault, and that invalidation can really affect people,” adds Gregory.

But short of smashing the TV, deleting all your apps and going off-grid for the rest of time, how can survivors try to cope with the triggering nature of the news cycle?

Seek support

Gregory says the first step – and sometimes the hardest – is to ask for help. “If you’re struggling, seek support from family, friends, a sexual assault counsellor or psychologist,” she advises. “If you’re experiencing mental health symptoms, you can get a mental health care plan for up to 20 sessions through Medicare, and that’s a really important thing to do.”

Health professionals who work in sexual assault support are well-versed in helping people through what is – unfortunately – a quite common experience.

Write it down

The majority of sexual assault cases in Australia go unreported because victims are – understandably – hesitant to go to the police. It’s estimated that between nine and 14 per cent of sexual assaults are reported, and of those cases, very few result in a conviction.

For those unable or unwilling to make a police report, Gregory says writing about the experience can be affirming. “When you see headlines about sexual assault, it can make you question your own experiences. So sometimes having a written outline of the things you remember can be helpful. Even if you put it in a drawer out of sight, it’s important to know your truth,” she says.

Limit exposure

It’s unrealistic to tell people to simply log off Twitter, stop watching the news on TV and close their eyes when approaching a news agency to avoid being triggered. In fact, survivors often become attuned to stimuli that’s a reminder of their trauma, making it near impossible to tune out.

Considering this, Gregory says minimising – rather than eliminating – news consumption can help. “The best way to deal with the news coverage is to schedule fun activities and check in with friends and family, so you’re not on your phone all the time,” she explains.

Take care

It’s a common-sense cliché, but taking care of yourself and living a healthy lifestyle does build mental stamina, says Gregory: “Eating healthy, exercising, taking time with friends and having hobbies are good for your mental health at all time, but particularly if you’re feeling vulnerable.”

Have hope

As confronting as these stories are for all of us, they are unfortunately necessary for real change.

The only way we’re going to deal with our country’s sexual assault crisis is to have these difficult conversations. We need to listen to survivors, believe them, support them and hold perpetrators accountable. 

“This is an amazing chance for change,” says Gregory, noting that rape in marriage only became a criminal offence in the English-speaking world for the first time in 1976.

“I hope these headlines start conversations about consent, power dynamics and how common the freeze response is. No-one ever asks a king-hit victim if they explicitly told their perpetrator not to punch them. Hopefully the next generation won’t have to deal with the victim-blaming rhetoric of sexual assault.”

There is power in knowing your truth, raising your voice and collectively channelling our rage to demand better.

If you’re reading this, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders and unclench your jaw. We riot at dawn.

If you or someone you know needs help or advice, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. If you need help immediately, please call 000.

The post How to cope when sexual assault cases make headlines appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Jonathon Bakewell, the man who raped and murdered Anne-Marie, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1989.

In 2004, the Northern Territory, where Bakewell was imprisoned, changed murder sentencing laws to give life sentence prisoners the opportunity for parole.

After just 28 years behind bars, he was released from prison in 2016, aged 55, and has since breached parole four times for taking drugs – the same drugs he took the night he raped and murdered Anne-Marie.

Eileen Culleton, the sister of Anne-Marie, says she lives in perpetual fear that he will strike again and believes that rapist murderers should never be given another chance to repeat their crimes.

That’s why she’s just launched a national petition calling for law reform and the creation of a new offence, “murder with sexual assault”, that would have a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

Currently, the crime of rape and murder is tried and charged as only as murder, with raped treated a secondary factor in the murder. Culleton would like to see the crime of rape and murder treated as one offence.

“This crime needs to be tried as its own offence to reflect the true character of the crime,” she said.

In the petition, Culleton has called on the Federal Attorney General Christian Porter to put this law reform on the agenda of the next Council of Attorneys-General (CAG) meeting, and for state and territory Attorney-Generals to work together to ensure uniform sentencing across Australia.

“I am appalled at how broken the justice system of Australia has become with its weak sentencing and its failure to protect the community,” Culleton said.

“Today there is rarely true justice for murdered rape victims and their loved ones and the community is not being protected with rapist murderers being released on parole and attacking again.”

To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women I launched my petition to Christian Porter & state AGs: #LifeForRapistMurderers – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/48k9isLwwV via @ChangeAUS #GenerationEquality

— Eileen Culleton (@EileenCulleton) November 25, 2020

Culleton says true life sentences are rarely given today. While murder carries a mandatory life sentence in most states, judges have discretion to set a non-parole period of 15 years in Western Australia, and 20 years in other states.

“20 years is not a life sentence,” she said. “A woman’s life must be valued equally to the life of the man who took her life so brutally and that must be reflected in a sentence for the term of the rapist murderer’s natural life.”

We’ve seen the abhorrent rape and murder of women. Lives tragically cut short by the monsters who killed them. @Lisa_Wilkinson sat down with one victim’s sister who says enough is enough, and locking them up for life is the only solution. Sign petition: https://t.co/Cm562nhHmT pic.twitter.com/jFR86PxmYK

— The Project (@theprojecttv) November 25, 2020

In recent years, the rape and murders of Aiia Maasarwe and Eurydice Dixon have sent shockwaves around Australia for their horror and absolute brutality. But as Culleton points out, Codey Herrmann and Jaymes Todd, the men who raped and murdered the young women, will be eligible for parole release when they are in their fifties.

“Young enough to strike again. This must stop,” Culleton said.

Culleton also says that sentencing for crimes of rape and murder should not be reduced based on ‘mitigating factors’.

“It [rape and murder] is a hate crime enacted to terrorise, torture and degrade the victim and is about the offender exerting power, control and dominance over their victim.

“How can anyone argue there are mitigating factors or excuses for raping and murdering someone? This is a crime which by its very nature is deliberate.”

Culleton’s petition was launched on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Culleton is asking Australians to join her fight for a new offence of “murder with sexual assault” and for the mandatory life sentencing without parole for rapist murderers.

You can sign the petition here and share widely with your network using the hashtag #LifeForRapistMurderers. For more information head to Eileen’s website, here.

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If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 000. If you need help and advice call 1800Respect on 1800 737 732 or or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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