Sexual Violence
Rape is violence, not "sex." Reporting on sexual assault means finding not only the language but the context and sensitivity to communicate a trauma that is at once deeply personal and yet a matter of public policy; immediate and yet freighted with centuries of stigma, silence and suppression. Reporting on sexual violence requires special ethical sensitivity, interviewing skills, and knowledge about victims, perpetrators, law and psychology.
Dart Resources
Documenting Rape in War
It takes a delicate awareness of cultural sensitivities and ethics to report on sexual violence without causing victims further distress or danger.
Reporting on Sexual Violence
Quick tips on covering sexual violence, from preparation to writing the story.
Seeking Justice for Campus Rapes
This series combined far-reaching investigative reporting with powerful personal stories to expose a pattern in which college students found responsible for sexual assaults face little punishment, while their victims receive little help. Originally aired on NPR in February and March, 2010.
Brutalized, then Betrayed

Lara Logan suffered sexual battery in Cairo, then gender bigotry back home.
The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq

A journalist and author tells a story almost no one wants to hear: sexual assault in the military.
Outside Resources
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Futures Without Violence: Domestic, Dating and Sexual Violence
http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/content/action_center/detail/754
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A Frustrating Search for Justice
Center for Public Integrity
An investigation of the institutional barriers to justice for victims of sexual assault on college campuses.
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Child Sexual Abuse
National Center for PTSD
A National Center for PTSD Fact Sheet. It details the effects of sexual abuse on children, and adults exposed to sexual abuse as children.
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Men and Sexual Trauma
National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
A fact sheet defining sexual assault among males and giving an overview of its immediate and long-term effects.
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Sexual Assault Against Females
National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
A fact sheet defining sexual assault among females and giving an overview of its immediate and long-term effects.
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Sexual Assault FAQs
WomensHealth.Gov
Answers to frequently asked questions about sexual assault from the United States federal government source for women's health information.
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Cardinal Law
Boston Phoenix
Complete coverage of the 2002 Catholic Church priest sexual abuse scandal.
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Telling the Truth About Rape
Poynter Online
A series of essays by journalists exploring the coverage of sexual assault.
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Covering Tragedy
ABC Radio
2007 Ochberg Fellow Lisa Millar talks about trauma journalism on the National Media Report.
All Tips & Tools
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Tragedies & Journalists
A 40-page guide to help journalists, photojournalists and editors report on violence while protecting both victims and themselves.
