a quarterly newlsletter for UUs ACTING to stop violence against women

Transforming a Rape Culture, Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher, Martha Roth, eds.,
Milkweed Editions, 1993

"What is a rape culture?" So begins Transforming a Rape Culture, a groundbreaking work for activists dedicated to creating a violence-free society. The editors define a "rape culture" as: ". . . a complex of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent. A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm ... (and) both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life, inevitable ... [But] much of what we accept as inevitable is in fact the expression of values and attributes that can change."

This book is a thoughtful collection of essays by anti-rape activists, ad emphasizes the transformation, not documentation, of a rape culture. This emphasis distinguishes the book from many now available on the issue of sexual violence; the tone is hopeful. The editors hope that the book will spark private reflection, spur public discussion, and lead to action. I believe that in the hands of religious educators, the book, with its short thoughtful essays which are ideal for group study, can do just that. Private reflection and public action are transformative actions. I hope that some of you will accept the challenge to work to transform the culture into one without rape.

Your voices are the sounds of the "Not Yet Spoken." (Griffin, p. 446) I believe our liberal religious principles, based on justice and equality, call us to find these voices. "Equality is a practice. It is an action. It is a way of life. If equality is what you want and what you care about, than you have to fight for the institutions that make it socially real. You can't think it and make it exist. Equality is a discipline." (Dworkin, pp. 18-19)

This book is a guide for living as a spiritual discipline-a discipline of equality. I can make no higher a recommendation than that. (Excerpted from a review by Alison Cooper)

Former UUs ACTING leaders Christine Martell and Alison Cooper advise us to take care of ourselves if we expect to help victims of violence. One way to do this is to learn what battering is and how it occurs. Ton inform, warn and encourage us, Ann Jones has written Next Time She'll Be Dead: Battering and How to Stop It

A journalist, activist and critic, Jones writes clearly and persuasively, defining terms and concepts, reviewing cases of battering and analyzing issues. In the Introduction, Jones describes her childhood experience of violence, and states her belief that women and children have an absolute right to live free from harm. In Chapter 5, Jones explains that women often leave home repeatedly in the struggle to get free of violence. Jones outlines changes being made, as well as those still needed in such institutions as the criminal justice system, child protection agencies, schools and the shelter network in Chapter 7.

In this work, Ann Jones has honored women and children whose lives and health have been sacrificed, offering readers a strong foundation of understanding and the courage to act. (Excerpted from a review by Barbara Schonborn)

For more information about UUs ACTING, contact:

UU Fellowship
2172 Kiernan Road
Modesto, CA 95356-9737