Publications

Is the family a place of safety or a trap? SHaME Director Dr Ruth Beecher explores the institution of the family and the (lack of) recognition of child sexual abuse within it.

Dr George Severs argues that the history of male victims of rape and sexual violence should make us all alert to the ways in which gender norms silence male experiences of abuse, and prompt us to hear hear male survivors who are so often both silent and silenced.

Can medical institutions participate in colonial violence? SHaME's Allison McKibban argues the involuntary sterilization of tens of thousands of Native American women in the 1970s must be rehistoricised as part of the U.S. government’s broader campaign of genocide.

SHaME Associate Fellow Dr Stephanie Wright explores how society approaches the sexual desires of those with disabilities. She establishes how the historical lack of acknowledgement of vulnerable people's sexual autonomy can result in an increased possibility of harm. 

How has sexual violence been produced through different institutional cultures of harm? And what strategies have survivors used to counter silence, shame, and stigma? The SHaME team explores various forms of institutional sexual violence in a series originally published with History Workshop Online in 2022.

SHaME's George Severs interviews author and activist Tanaka Mhishi about his powerful book 'Sons and Others: On Loving Male Survivors' following its launch late last year.

On October 7th, SHaME will be celebrating the release of Professor Joanna Bourke's new book, Disgrace: Global Reflections on Sexual Violence, published by Reaktion Books. Joanna will be joined by Jude Kelly CBE, Marai Larasi, Dr Rhea Sookdeosingh, and Maisha Sumah in a conversation between artists, activists and academics on boundary-crossing global approaches to creating a rape free world.

SHaME was honoured to host the official book launch of author, activist, survivor and academic Winnie M Li’s second novel, ‘Complicit’ (Orion). Winnie was joined in conversation by Prof Joanna Bourke and guests Marai Larasi, Prof Liz Kelly, Rowena Chiu, and Dr Katherine Angel.

On 13th July 2022, SHaME hosted the official book launch of Dr Charlie Jeffries' book, Teenage Dreams: Girlhood Sexualities in the US Culture Wars (Rutgers University Press, 2022). Charlie was joined by SHaME's Prof Joanna Bourke for a short reading and discussion of what this book can tell us about the race- and class-inflected battles over adolescent women’s sexual and reproductive lives.

SHaME's Allison McKibban interviews SHaME's Dr Charlie Jeffries about her first monograph 'Teenage Dreams: Girlhood Sexualities in the US Culture Wars' ahead of the July 13th launch event.

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.

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.

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).

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 Principal Investigator, Prof Joanna Bourke, discusses 'Reclaiming Voice', Imkaan's recently launched report on sexual violence against minoritised women in the UK.

In this post, Dr Ruth Beecher argues that Steven Angelides loses sight of the child altogether when he argues that child sexuality has been “disarmed and disempowered by the child sexual abuse movement" in his recently published book, The Fear of Child Sexuality: Young People, Sex, and Agency.

Dr Kirsten Campbell, Reader in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, discusses why the recent publication, 'In Plain Sight: Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict' is an important and timely contribution to research on conflict-related sexual violence.

In this post, Prof Joanna Bourke reviews Steven Angelides's recently published book, The Fear of Child Sexuality: Young People, Sex, and Agency.