Blog

SHaME Postdoctoral Research Fellows Dr George Severs and Dr Rhian Keyse speak to contributors from the 2021 Shameless! Festival of Activism Against Sexual Violence about their work, their reflections on the festival, and their insights on creating a rape-free world.

SHaME Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Rhian Keyse discusses the recent U.S. Supreme Court leaked draft opinion, its ahistorical logic, and its implications for abortion rights in the U.S.

Healing Hearts is a short film of poetry created by a young women's group from The Lighthouse Service in North London, filmmaker Sunnah Khan, Clinical Psychologists Dr Anna Churcher Clarke and Dr Isabella Girling, and Assistant Psychologist George Yerbury.

On 28 April 2022, SHaME presented the official book launch of Associate Prof Sameena Mulla and Associate Prof Heather Hlavka's 'Bodies in Evidence: Race, Gender, and Science in Sexual Assault Adjudication' (New York University Press). Heather and Sameena were joined in conversation by host Prof Joanna Bourke and guests Assistant Prof April Petillo, Dr Gethin Rees, and Prof M Gabriela Torres.

SHaME and the South Africa's Hidden War project are pleased to present a Call for Papers for our upcoming conference, 'Do No Harm': Researching the Pasts, Presents, and Futures of Sexual Violence, taking place 8-10 February 2023 at Birkbeck, University of London.

Professor Joanna Bourke is the Principal Investigator for Sexual Harms + Medical Encounters, a five-year Wellcome Trust-funded interdisciplinary research group based at Birkbeck, University of London. In this inaugural post, Joanna discusses what motivated her return to studying sexual violence.

Professor Joanna Bourke reviews Associate Professor Sameena Mulla and Associate Professor Heather Hlavka's forthcoming book 'Bodies in Evidence: Race, Gender, and Science in Sexual Assault Adjudication' ahead of the April 28th launch event.

SHaME researchers Emma Yapp and Adeline Moussion share their experiences designing and facilitating the ‘Unpopular Opinions Workshop’ at the Shameless! Festival. The workshop provided a space for survivors to express their anger and frustrations, while challenging institutional and societal expectations of victimhood and survivorship.

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse: A Lost Opportunity By Ruth Beecher and Joanna Bourke   The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), whose...

Dr Ruth Beecher overviews her workshop, History Investigators, from the Shameless! Festival. The interactive session asked festival goers to delve into fact, myth, folklore and personal histories to build a timeline of resistance to sexual violence.

SHaME reflects on the death of bell hooks. We think about hooks’ legacy and influence on our own work.

'Words from an "Unideal" Victim' by Mary Morgan   Are you an ideal victim?   In allegations of sexual assault, there exists an “ideal victim.”...

On 14 December 2021, SHaME closed its 2021 Events Calendar with the official book launch of Dr Nick Basannavar’s ‘Sexual Violence Against Children in Britain Since 1965: Trailing Abuse’ (Palgrave Macmillan). Nick was joined in conversation by host Professor Joanna Bourke (Principal Investigator at SHaME) and guests Professor Adrian Bingham (Sheffield) and Professor Rachel Hope Cleves (Victoria).

SHaME is pleased to present a Call for Proposals for filmmakers to create films linked to the themes of medical or psychiatry aspects of sexual violence.

SHaME and WOW have collaboratively assembled an essential activism kit to mark the launch of the Shameless! Festival of Activism Against Sexual Violence. From simple actions to recommended reading, we are excited to have you join us in the movement to create a world free from sexual violence.

The SHaME and WOW teams are thrilled to share the schedule for the first ever Shameless! Festival of Activism Against Sexual Violence on November 27th at Battersea Arts Centre. The festival schedule features artists, activists, and scholars covering issues including the normalisation of sexual violence, rape myths, consent, everyday triggers, and survival.

Professor Joanna Bourke reviews Dr Nick Basannavar's forthcoming book, 'Sexual Violence Against Children in Britain Since 1965: Trailing Abuse' ahead of the December 14th launch event.

SHaME researcher Emma Yapp is joined by researcher and activist Dr Aviah Day on the 'What’s Missing from the Conversation?’ podcast to discuss trust. The podcast is now live on Mixcloud.

SHaME team member Allison McKibban gives a behind-the-scenes look at her own experience in one aspect of planning the Shameless! Festival. She explains how safeguarding training not only helped her prepare for the festival, but also transformed her ways of thinking around survivorship and the intricacies of creating safer spaces.