I wonder what would help people to embrace and take part in the 'everyday prevention' of sexual harm?

Speaker(s):

Rhys Turner-Moore, Leeds Beckett University

Abstract:

There are lots of examples of everyday experiences and activism online. For example, everyday sexism, everyday victim-blaming, everyday feminism. These fulfill an important purpose in providing a place for people to share their experiences, feel heard, and learn from others. However, the concept of the 'everyday' hasn't been applied to preventing sexual harm, such as sexual violence and abuse. People tend to see sexual harm as something that is inevitable and unpreventable. However, I believe that there are small everyday steps that we can all take to collectively create a world free from sexual violence and abuse. For example, engaging in dialogue with those around us (e.g. neighbours, family, friends, taxi drivers, people on social media) or challenging poor media representations or use of language (e.g. via social media, online posts, file a complaint with the news source). I wonder what it would take to help people embrace the idea of the 'everyday prevention' of sexual harm, feel inspired to take part in it, and to collectively build a public movement towards preventing sexual harm?