1. Rape Culture Source: femifesto Talking Points:
This presentation will discuss different examples of how rape culture is engrained in our culture, history and systems. We will also review different aspects of how rape culture is exhibited throughout our daily lives.
Trainer Notes:
These slides have minimal formatting so that you can drop them into an existing presentation or slide format. Feel free to customize this PowerPoint with other images- try google image searching “rape culture” or similar term to find a image that works best for you or simply customize with your agency’s logo.
If these slides are part of a longer presentation, then you can turn this slide off, or use it just to start this section. You may choose to turn off additional slides or add new ones based on the timeframe you have for the presentation and your audience.
You are encouraged to adapt language to your audience. Depending on the community you’re working with, you might already know that some words should be different. Please feel free to change them in the slides ahead of time, or just use the more tailored words in your verbal presentation.
Source: femifesto

2. Definitions
Rape Culture is a widely used term describing a system of beliefs in which rape and sexual violence are common and inevitable.
Prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media condone, normalize, excuse and encourage sexualized violence.
Sexist jokes, victim blaming, minimizing sexual violence, and sexual objectification.
Talking points:
Rape culture is a term that was coined by feminists in the United States in the 1970’s.
Rape culture is a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women, non-masculine males, transgender individuals, and, really, anyone who is not conforming to ridged gender roles.
It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent. In a rape culture, women as well as LGBT people experience a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to touching to rape itself.
These constant social messages create norms. In time, these norms create our history.
A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm.
In a rape culture people of all genders assume that sexual violence is a fact of life-- inevitable. However, much of what we accept as inevitable is in fact the expression of values and attitudes that can change.
Resources:
What is Rape Culture?
Transforming a Rape Culture by Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher, Martha Roth

3. Examples of Rape Culture
Everyday Experiences:
Street harassment, rape jokes
Institutions & Systems:
Athletics, schools, legal response, faith institutions
Cultural & Societal Norms:
Victim blaming, media messages (music, movies, advertisements, news coverage, etc.), gender expectations
Talking Points:
We are looking at aspects of our lives that contribute to Rape Culture. All the aspects when combined show a comprehensive picture of how and why sexual assault continues to be tolerated and even encouraged in our society.
Trainers notes:
This slide lays out the agenda for the rest of the presentation.
You may have some pushback on/from institutions mentioned. Do not let this be a derailment to the main objective. Different examples, big and small, contribute to or reinforce rape culture. Some of the things we discuss may not apply at your particular school or family or faith community. It is important to remember that when we talk about systems, we are talking about systems broadly.

4. Rape Jokes
Humor can be used to covertly deliver messages that can reinforce negative attitudes towards women
Enhanced negative attitudes towards individuals can lead to aggressive behavior
Jokes delivered by a comedian are perceived to reflect the views of the comedian
Talking Points:
The point of talking about rape jokes is to begin the discussion about how it affects society.
Does hearing rape jokes lead people to rape? Several studies have shown that appreciation of sexist jokes and just being shown sexist jokes leads to:
Increased blame attached to victims of rape
Increased acceptance of desire to rape
Decreased view of rape as a “serious” problem
Decreased desire to punish rapists
So, evidence does point to rape jokes promoting rape culture. However, this only reflects people’s attitudes towards rape after hearing sexist jokes; it doesn’t mean that jokes will lead to actionable violence.
Optional talking points:
One study provides evidence that humor affects behavior by using the Buss aggression machine technique to observe the relationship between disparaging humor and non-disparaging humor on people.
Rape Jokes often target more marginalized groups, for example, people who are incarcerated.
“In my opinion, comedy flourishes most when it brings us together, not when it tears us apart.” -comedian Sara Schaefer
Optional Video:
This Season's Many Rape Jokes on TV
Resources:
A Scientific Case Against Rape Jokes

5. Street Harassment
Street Harassment has a wide range of behaviors that are harmful and constitute sexual harassment.
Talking points:
Define and introduce the spectrum of street/sexual harassment.
Definition from Hollaback:
Street harassment is sexual, gender-based, and bias-motivated harassment that takes place in public spaces like the street, the supermarket, and the social media we use every day. At its core is a power dynamic that constantly reminds historically subordinated groups of our vulnerability to assault in public spaces. Street harassment punishes women, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalized groups for being themselves in the world.
Street harassment is not about sexual gratification. It’s about power. If street harassment were about getting dates, it would be a “spectacularly unsuccessful strategy.” Instead, street harassment is about “putting people in their place.” Sometimes it’s sexual, sometimes it’s racist, sometimes it’s homophobic, and sometimes it’s all of the above and more. Whatever form it takes, it tells us that we’re not safe in the physical or online spaces we share with friends, relatives, acquaintances, and strangers.
Optional Talking Points:
(or even create an additional slide dedicated to Online Harassment)
Online harassment includes a wide range of targeted behaviors including: threats, continued hateful messages, doxxing, DDoS attacks, swatting, defamation, and more. Online harassment can target (or come from) a group or individual and often has the expressed purpose of having the individual or group leave the internet, take down their content, or to dissuade them from publically having a point of view. While there is space for debate and discussion online (as well as conflicting ideas!), what separates online harassment from healthy discourse is the focus on harm: including publishing personal information, sending threats with the intention to scare or harm, using discriminatory language against an individual, and even directly promoting harm against a person or organization.
Resources:
Stop Telling Women to Smile
An Educator’s Guide to Street Harassment
Hollaback School Action Pack
Heart Mob (online harassment)
Definitions:
Doxxing or doxing: publicly exposing someone's real name or address, outing someone’s sexual orientation, affiliation, etc. on the Internet with the intent that the information exposure will harm or discredit them.
DDoS attack: A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.
Swatting: the action or practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to another person’s address.
Source: stoptellingwomentosmile.com

6. Street Harassment
Some actions are commonly overlooked as a part of the continuum of violence, such as:
Whistles, comments about appearance, leering, demanding a smile, sexually explicit gestures, etc.
More overt behaviors are generally understood as sexual harassment, such as:
Groping, indecent exposure, stalking, etc.
Talking Points:
Because a perception exists that it is okay to make light of rape, actions begin to occur, like Street Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Online Harassment.
Ask participants:
What does this kind of harassment look like in your school/neighborhood?
Optional Video:
The first clip is of lady in New York walking around the city with a hidden camera.
“Master of None” - The second clip shows how females feel walking the streets versus males. Aziz Ansari explained his motivation behind this episode was based on listening to his female identified friends. “Women have dozens of these stories.”
Resources:

7. In Schools
Dress codes that treat or describe girl’s bodies as “distractions”
Abstinence only sex education
Social expectations and pressure on prom night about sexual activity
Inadequate sexual assault and harassment policies
Expecting and tolerating violent displays of masculinity in athletics
Talking Points:
Another way that rape culture is reinforced is in systems. How institutions set up their rules, policies and how they respond to sexual assault / sexual harassment can indirectly promote sexual assault and bolster sexism.
School dress codes can support the idea that clothing, suggestive or not is an acceptable way to determine the amount of respect others deserve.
School administrators typically believe dress codes benefit the school environment by placing an emphasis on education and reducing distractions for students. However, when examining dress codes at schools, we can often see that girls bodies are targeted as inappropriate. Ex, too much cleavage, bare shoulders, leggings, shorts, short skirts.
When sent home, told to change or told not to wear again, the message is usually that their outfits are distracting, i.e. tempting boys/men.
This “distracting” message is a coded way schools and institutions begin sexualizing young girls.
Under no circumstances should girls be told that their clothing is responsible for boy's bad behaviors.
Ask Participants:
What other examples aren’t included here that you think should be?
Optional Talking Points:
Ways High Schools Reinforce Rape Culture
7 High School Traditions That Reinforce Rape Culture
Trainer notes:
Using the dress code example for discussion will likely work best with both youth and adults. It is also the least likely to be triggering to people and it keeps you from talking about sex directly if that is something you are discouraged from doing. But you can use any example you’d like.
Resources:
When Enforcing School Dress Codes Turns Into Slut Shaming
How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture

8. Legal System Responses
Talking Points:
Look at national statistics for rape compared with the statistics for assault and battery. (RAINN)
The disparity shows a societal leniency toward rape as opposed to another, and generally less serious, violent crime.
Less than half of all rapes are actually reported.
Only 3% of rapists spend even a day in jail.
Campus rape rates haven’t changed in the last 20 years.
2-8% of charges may be false, but students think up to 50% of rape reports are fabricated.
Ask Participants:
(use one of more depending on time and audience)
How do you think these statistics make people who have been sexually assaulted feel?
Do you think they feel like reporting to the police?
Do you think these statistics embolden offenders?
Do you think they could embolden someone who is not yet an offender, to commit sexual assault?
Optional Talking Points:
In March, 2016, a Santa Clara County jury found Brock Turner guilty of three felonies: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person, penetration of an intoxicated person, and penetration of an unconscious person. The conviction stemmed from the charming, athletic, wealthy, white Stanford student’s arrest in 2015 after his victim blacked out at a frat party and woke up in a hospital covered in pine needles and dried blood, with bandages on her hands and elbows and no underwear. She’d been found by two passersby, unconscious behind a dumpster, dress around her waist, naked from the waist down with Turner raping her. He tried to make a run for it, but the passersby chased him and pinned him to the ground until the police showed up.
Are any of you familiar with this case? Is there anything you want to add?
Use the Stanford Rape Case emphasize these points:
The Brock Turner case highlighted rape culture for a lot of people.
Many systems failed the victim.
Turner's victim, a 23-year-old woman who hasn't been publicly identified, wrote a 7,000 word impact statement that was widely circulated and read in full on the news as well as in a session of Congress.
Despite a two-year minimum sentence associated with these kind of convictions, Turner was sentenced to six months in county jail and probation(served 3 months). In a letter Turner read to the judge, he described himself as an “inexperienced drinker and party-goer” who was “shattered by the party culture” he “briefly experienced” at college. He maintained in the statement that “in no way was I trying to rape anyone.” In a now-infamous letter to the judge, Turner’s father argued that his son should not be sent to prison for “20 minutes of action.”
Turner got a very short time in jail in relation to rape sentences in general and even other less serious crimes.
Turner’s father described the sexual assault as “20 minutes of action.”
Turner was described in the media as Stanford student athlete and All-American swimmer.
What are the ways this case resulted from and contributed to rape culture?
What messages does the outcome of this case give young people?
Trainer Notes:
When this presentation was created, this was the most recent and best example of Rape Culture in the media and legal system. However, you will likely find there are either more local or more current examples and we encourage you to use those.
Using the Brock Turner case is also a good way to introduce ideas of privilege (male privilege / white privilege / class privilege / athlete privilege) if there is time.
Resources:
Racism, Classism, Feminism … and Brock Turner
What Makes the Stanford Rape Case So Unusual
Brock Turner: When Rape Culture Meets White Privilege
This letter from a Stanford sexual assault victim destroys 5 bad assumptions about rape

9. Victim Blaming
Victim blaming includes beliefs, attitudes and actions which affectively blame a victim of rape for the rape itself. This can include comments and questions such as:
“Why didn’t you scream?”
“Why did you go to their house?”
“Why were you drinking/drunk?”
“Do you understand how this will affect their life?”
“I just don’t believe they would do that.”
Talking Points:
Like the dress code issue we talked about earlier; the girl is responsible for not tempting boys/men. Can you see how those are connected?
“Rape culture manifests in a myriad ways…but its most devilish trick is to make the average, noncriminal person identify with the person accused, instead of the person reporting the crime. Rape culture encourages us to scrutinize victims’ stories for any evidence that they brought the violence onto themselves – and always to imagine ourselves in the terrifying role of Good Man, Falsely Accused, before we ‘rush to judgment’.  -Kate Harding
Ask Participants:
Have you heard statements like these before?
Have you ever thought them? It is okay to not say if you have thought them before. We have unconscious victim-blaming inside us all the time and it sometimes comes up before our rational mind can. It is because of all the stuff we hear and all that we have talked about so far. This is rape culture.
Optional Video:
Megyn Kelley with victim blaming statements
Resources:
The Psychology of Victim-Blaming

10. Media Messages
Often messages about consent and sexual violence in the media just reinforce the norms of rape culture.
Consent should and can be a normalized part of a healthy culture though.
Talking Points:
Consent is an agreement between individuals prior to any sexual activity that clearly communicates which activities each person is comfortable engaging in. Consent can be withdrawn by either individual at any point in time.
Consent is often used in talking about sex but there are a lot of ways consent can be practiced.
Ask Participants:
Can you think of some examples of how to practice Consent?
Example: Parents allowing children to make a choice about hugging another relative, not expected.
Ways to practice consent:
Asking permission: “Is it okay if I…” about anything that might involve someone else’s personal boundaries or property.
In wrestling / tickling anytime someone says no, stop.
Let’s look at the image here:
What is this saying to us about Consent?
If you are able to talk more directly about sex:
There should be actual words or conduct that indicate freely given agreement for sexual activities. Some important points to consider are:
Body language can be misinterpreted, so always talk prior to action!
"Freely" given consent means that there was no manipulation or coercion compelling an individual to say "YES" when they may want to say "NO."
Someone who is drunk, drugged, or incapacitated cannot legally give consent.
Consent is the presence of a "YES," not the absence of a "NO." Thus, if a person does not object or fight back, this is not an indication of consent.
Can you think of movies, shows, or songs that show or talk about men/boys scheming to have sex with someone?
It is hard to teach consent, practice consent, and respect consent when negative messages about consent are being reinforced and often without us knowing it is happening. This is rape culture.
Optional Video:
Tea and Consent (there is no sexual imagery, it is a metaphor)
Resources:
Consent: Debunking the Grey-Area Myth
Source: punditpress.com

11. Objectification
Media messages about gender, typically women, support rape culture by picturing them as:
Property
Prize to be won
As valuable as an object
Talking Points:
Objectification distances us from other people and makes it easier to excuse and condone violence.
Objectification is a critical component of rape culture. To objectify means to make into an object. A thing. Something less than a full person. This is why offenders only offend on some people, not all person they come in contact with. So then who becomes objects? How do they become objects? What are these pictures implying? What is the message?
Being reduced to property
“Family” is derived from the Latin term “familia” which means “the sum of one man’s property”
Evolution of marriage -
Women are to be won
Ex. “trophy wife,” The Bachelor, “scoring” as in a sexual conquest
Being used as an object
Calling someone a name like SLUT or other names that are negative or inanimate, makes it so much easier to dehumanize them- treat them as less than.
In middle school or elementary school, girls that have developed maybe faster than other might be referred to as “Tits” instead of their name. This is making a person a body part- not a person anymore. This is also an example of sexism.
Optional Activity:
Locate an image(s) for analysis and discussion with participants. Images can be found:
Or simply google image search “sexist advertisements modern”
Optional Video:
Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up
“Locker Room” section
Miss Representation trailer
Short version
Long Version
Source: pinterest.com

12. Gender Expectations (Insert Video) Trainer Notes:
These next 2 slides are on Gender Expectations and the ways they contribute to Rape Culture. You may choose to use 1 or both of the slides depending on your time frame and if you have the materials for the activity.
Video:
Review one of these videos and use based on your audience. Make sure you watch the video you decide to use, there may be language concerns for your audience. Debrief with participants after the video.
For Youth:
Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up
Trailer-
Youth: a short film on gender roles and inequality
For Educators: “How Does Gender Stereotypes Affect Boys and Girls”
For Caregivers: “Boys will be Boys” by Gloria Moran (Latino man describing his experience of gender roles in his culture)
Additional video options:
Killing Us Softly
The Mask You Live in (masculinity)
#LikeAGirl
Break the Box

13. Gender Boxes Activity So… What happens if you don’t fit in the box?
Men and Boys
Can box, wrestle without being teased
Can grow beards, mustaches
Can play pro hockey
Women and Girls
Can have babies
Can wear skirts and dresses without being teased
Can wear makeup without being teased
Can paint the bedroom pink without being teased
Optional Activity:
You can use this activity to reinforce the information from the video and expand on it, have the participants identify their own examples.
Trainer Notes:
Activity directions-
Define "gender roles" and explain the lesson's purpose. Explain that roles are like rules by which we play games. The role of "student" involves being a good listener, coming to class on time, etc. Students who follow the rules, do well at the game. "Gender roles" are the rules people think they should follow because of their sex...ways they act because "boys and men are supposed to" or "girls and women ought to." This lesson will examine those roles/rules. 
2. Brainstorm gender-specific roles and behaviors in America today. Have students brainstorm, while you write the contributions on the blackboard, advantages of being male; then, the advantages of being female in mainstream U.S. culture today. Your lists may end up looking something like this: 
(example on slide- you can remove these examples to start from scratch with the group or change the examples to suit your preference.)
3. If the group has trouble generating the lists, ask them what things a girl or woman can do that some boys or men might feel embarrassed doing, or find impossible to do...and vice versa. Once the lists are on the whiteboard, help students identify that most characteristics are social learning and not biologically inherent. Point out that a few years ago the "women and girls" list might have contained "wearing earrings" or "getting a curl.” Now many males feel comfortable doing these things. Point out that other societies, not just other time in history, have differing beliefs regarding roles. In some Native American and African societies, men wear face-paint (makeup). In Scotland, men wear kilts (skirts). Give students a chance to discuss the expectations of men and women in their ethnic communities – the ways their own cultures may differ from the standards promoted by the media. 
Resources:
The purpose of this slide is to have participants break down some of the stereotypes that are enforced for young people. The FLASH curriculum is a great place to find more activities for this. Here is a link to this activity and more -
Gender Boxes exercise originally created by the Oakland Men’s Project.
So… What happens if you don’t fit in the box?

14. Male Entitlement
The idea of the “friend zone” supports the gender expectations that men are owed sex.
“Slut” is how we vilify a woman for exercising her right to say “yes.”
Saying a man’s been put in the “friend zone” is how we vilify a woman for exercising her right to say “no.”
This idea conveys that friendship is a failure; reinforcing the pressure of conquests for men and boys
Talking Points:
Female-identified individuals are not the only ones who are internalizing sexist messages. Men/boys are also receiving these same messages. We will begin to look at how some of these beliefs can be seen as warning signs.
The idea of the friend zone supports the gender expectations that men are owed sex.
Example:
Elliot Rodgers became a mass shooter in Santa Barbara killing 7 people including himself. His manifesto stated he wanted to punish women for rejecting him and to punish men for having the life he claimed he deserved. And outbursts of violent masculinity, especially acts rooted in misogyny, are becoming more common, with almost half of the mass shootings happening in the last eight years, and seven in 2012 alone. Then there are the incidents that don't make national headlines, like the high school senior in Connecticut who stabbed to death a classmate who declined his invitation to prom.
Resources:
6 Reasons the “Friend Zone” Needs to Die
Why #YesAllWomen is This Week's Most Important Hashtag
Why Men Think They Deserve Sex from Women
Male sexual entitlement is killing women

15. Intersections
Rape culture exists on a continuum of actions that are directly related to systems of oppression.
Talking Points:
There are higher rates of sexual harassment, sexual assault etc. toward people from communities that have experienced marginalization. For example, racism helps to contribute to a culture where people are made less human or objects. (Remember when we talked about objectification?) If someone views another race as less than, it is easier for a perpetrator to justify in their own minds abuse toward that person. Again, racist or homophobic name calling creates an atmosphere where human beings that are African American or Gay are seen as less than and therefore more deserving of abuse.
Ask Participants:
What thoughts do you have about this? What connections do you see between isms and rape culture?
Optional Activity:
It may be useful to locate an image that exotifies women of color for analysis.
Resources:
Racism and Rape
Sexual Violence in Communities of Color
Anti-Oppression Theory (related to Sexual and Domestic Violence)

16. In Your Life
What are ways that you see rape culture manifest in everyday experiences, relationships, systems, and society?
Activity:
Brainstorm using popcorn responses with participants, write on flip chart or white board.
Ask Participants:
What are ways that rape culture manifests in everyday experiences? (generic, or more specific choices below)
For Youth: What examples have you seen in your own lives? What do you experience or see in and out of school (ex. “butt-slap Fridays”)?
For Educators: What examples have you seen from your own lives? What about in youth today? What is similar/different? What do you see in schools?
For Caregivers: What examples have you seen from your own lives? What about in youth today? What is similar/different? What examples do you see in youth when they are not in school?
Trainer notes:
Have different examples ready for different types of exposure to rape culture.
Everyday Feminism has a list here:
Source: WCSAP

17. Taking Action
Much of what we accept as inevitable is in fact the expression of values and attitudes that can change. What are some ways you can work to change a culture that supports rape?
Talking Points:
Sometimes it is hard to think of ways you can take action or fight against something so big. Let’s look at some examples:
Name problems when you see them.
Ask Participants: What can that look like?
For example: the right question is not, “What was she doing/wearing/saying when she was raped?” The right question is, “What made him think this is acceptable?”
Don't laugh at rape.
Ask Participants: What can you do when you hear jokes about sexual assault?
While it might seem harmless to you to laugh at a joke that makes light of rape, your laughter could be telling an unknown rapist in your midst that you think rape is hilarious.
Reevaluate How You Talk About Women
Ask Participants: What are some ways you can change your language?
When we call women "sluts," and the like, we villainize them in a way that maintains the idea that a woman’s behavior or appearance can indicate that “she was asking for it” or “she deserved it.”
Lobby your community.
Ask Participants: How can you advocate for safer spaces?
Report abuse on Facebook. Lobby college administrators for more safe spaces to discuss sexual assault on campus.
For Educators/Parents:
If You Raise Children, Teach Them Well.
Ask Participants: What conversations can you have with the youth in your lives to encourage a shift in this culture?
Girls are often taught how to try to protect themselves while not enough focus is given to teaching boys not to rape.
Don’t reinforce gender roles. Even when they seem harmless.
Speak up about unequal treatment in dress codes, school sports.
Trainer notes:
We want to ask the participants to find ways they can commit to making change. It is recommended that you find ways to end your presentation in a hopeful place, a call to action and offer ideas and discussion on what that might entail.
Resources:
Three Components of Rape Culture and What You Can do to Fight Back
Upsetting A Rape Culture
Ten Things to End Rape Culture
8 Ways to Fight Rape Culture
Men Can Stop Rape
For Parents
Everyday Lessons That Fight Rape Culture And Keep Our Kids Safe
Image from article: