It’s been a heavy week for survivors of sexual assault. The news of the “Cornell 7″ has been a stark reminder that accountability too often evades perpetrators while victims are left to live a nightmare. 

• Look no further than the details of the case, and the “punishment” assigned to the young men involved. An essay for SA. I do not have words for this kind of rage.

→ I’ve been thinking a lot about survivor memoirs and essays, not because books will save us, but because they remind us what survival looks like and call rape culture out for what it is. Here are three worth revisiting in this moment. Content warning for discussions of sexual assault.

→ Not That Bad edited by Roxane Gay – The testimonies in this collection drive home the reality that is existing as a woman, of walking through a violent world and then being put through hell when we report the harm we experience. It was sobering to hear just how many victims describe what happened to them as “not that bad.” It’s all bad and so often the most bad, but the instinct to make less of that pain persists. 

→ Know My Name by Chanel Miller – You might know Chanel Miller as Emily Doe, the woman assaulted by Brock Turner at Stanford University whose victim impact statement went viral in the aftermath. Her story is one of immense courage when the justice system failed her, one that helped bring about change in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. 

A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides by Gisèle Pelicot, translated by Natasha Lehrer – In 2020, Gisèle Pelicot learned that her husband had been drugging her, raping her, and inviting men over to assault her in their home for over a decade. In 2024, she waived her right to anonymity in her legal fight against her husband and 50 other men. Pelicot’s declaration at trial became a rallying cry around the world, and inspired the subtitle of this book. —VD