"Cinema, as the great empathy machine, can tell our stories and allow others to understand them, and therefore, hopefully us. The feeling of recognition one can gain upon seeing their story reflected on the big screen is often euphoric – but not always. In the summer of 2017, almost a year removed from my own sexual assault, I saw my story in the form of Jeff Baena’s The Little Hours. As I watched three women drug a man and proceed to assault him, I saw my story in front of my very eyes, but the feeling was far from euphoric. Instead, I sunk deeper into my chair as the entire auditorium erupted with laughter at what was happening on screen. This was a vivid reminder of how cinema, and by extension society, viewed male victims of sexual assault." from January 2025 #Review #Critique #SexualAssault #MenToo #Cinema #FemalePerpetrators https://lwlies.com/articles/male-sexual-assault-representation/ (fb)

"The lead investigator in the case, Detective Constable Alice Hornsby from Northamptonshire Police’s SOLAR Team has said that they showed ‘incredible’ courage and resilience. She said: 'First of all I want to thank all of the survivors in this case. It takes tremendous bravery to report this type of crime to the police and every single one of them should feel proud of the fact that their courage has resulted in a dangerous man being sent to prison. 'Without them, and the witnesses in this case, making statements and being prepared to go to court, this wouldn’t have been possible. 'It is often difficult for victims of sexual abuse to come forward and this is especially the case for male victims who often believe that they need to remain silent about their experiences because of an internalised belief that speaking up is a sign of weakness. 'On the contrary, these men are some of the bravest men I’ve ever met and their courage and resilience has been incredible, especially as the investigation has taken nearly four years to get to court.'" from January 27, 2025 #InTheNews #CSA #Conviction #UK https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/crime/the-bravest-men-ive-ever-met-police-officer-who-investigated-rushdens-most-prolific-sex-offender-robert-gould-pays-tribute-to-victims-4962763 (fb)