For Families & Professionals

Why Feminism is Fundamental in Sexual Assault Services

Juno’s Circle is strongly underpinned by a feminist philosophy and the acknowledgement that sexual assault is a gendered crime.  We accept that while perpetrators of sexual violence are a diverse group of people ranging from different cultures, socioeconomic status, educational level, occupancies, family dynamics etc., they overwhelmingly tend to be male.  This is not the same as saying we do not recognise that females or even children can also commit serious sexual assault, nor that this would have any less of an impact on the victim/survivor.  We acknowledge that perpetrators of sexual violence are more likely to be male, however this does not mean that most men are themselves perpetrators.  There are many men who have never, and would never, commit sexual assault.  We emphasise the role of sex and gender to highlight the power imbalance that exists in our society.  We do know that sexual assault is not actually about sexual lust or uncontrollable sexual urges, but in fact about the perpetrator’s need for power and control.  In referencing patriarchy we are acknowledging that men in general tend to hold more positions of power and have the most influence, authority, and privilege than other social groups.  Of course this should not be interpreted to mean every single man, as that would fail to recognise the individual hardships and struggles that some men do face.

Men Hold Power and Privilege

Traditionally the response to sexual violence would be a request (from police, parents, society) for the women involved to somehow take responsibility for their own sexual assault or even murder.  Statements warning women of the dangers of being out late at night, of being intoxicated, of dressing a certain way, are all designed to place the responsibility of sexual assault and murder solely on women.  However, the only people who are directly responsible for the sexual assault or murder of these women are the actual people who committed the sexual assault or who killed them.  All men (even those who do not use violence- perhaps especially these men) have a very important role in our society to play in reducing violence against women and children.  This is about recognising the positions of power and privilege that men as a social group hold and using them in an influential way to discourage not just direct violence towards women but challenging values and attitudes that underpin this violence.  An example would be encouraging more men to speak out against tolerance for rape jokes or attitudes around seeing women as sex objects devoid of thoughts, emotions and human rights.