The New Campus Anti-Rape Movement

Internet Activism and Social Justice

By (author) Caroline Heldman, Alissa R. Ackerman, Ian Breckenridge-Jackson

Publication date:

29 May 2018

Length of book:

230 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

231x160mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781498554015

After 40 years of activists working to reduce sexual violence on college campuses, in 2014, the new Campus Anti-Rape Movement (CARM) finally put this issue on the national policy agenda. President Barack Obama credited “an inspiring wave of student-led activism” for catapulting campus rape into public consciousness. This book positions the new CARM within a long history of anti-sexual violence activism in the U.S. The authors describe the major events of this new movement and how it coalesced. The authors also analyze the new CARM through a social movement lens, and examine the role of new laws and social media in facilitating movement successes. The book argues that the new CARM laid the groundwork for the emergence of #MeToo, the highest profile campaign against sexual harassment/violence to date in U.S. history.
While several scholars have written about this movement, the authors of The New Campus Anti-Rape Movement provide the most comprehensive recounting of its events, individuals, and related laws and policies. . . . The book’s empirical contribution. . . is important and valuable. As a reference to the mobilization, events, and changes around campus sexual assault, it is indispensable. Clearly written, with a straightforward organization, the book will be a useful handbook for activists and academics researching questions of sexual violence and activism on college campuses. Indeed, all faculty and students are likely to encounter reports of sexual violence on campus and, as such, should understand the legal and cultural context for our institutions’ responses to such reports.