Non-Fiction Books about Sexual Violence

Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape

by Susan Brownmiller (1993)

In this seminal and timeless book, journalist Susan Brownmiller discusses the history, politics, and sociology of sexual violence, especially noting the role played by deeply ingrained gender inequality.

The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America

by Sarah Deer (2015)

Sarah Deer tackles the enduring legacy of colonialism faced by Indigenous peoples in North America, paying particular attention to the gendered way this legacy plays out. Here, “Deer provides a clear historical overview of rape and sex trafficking in North America, paying particular attention to the gendered legacy of colonialism in tribal nations — a truth largely overlooked or minimized by Native and non-Native observers.”

What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape

by Sohaila Abdulali (2018)

As a survivor of gang rape and as a feminist writer, Sohaila Abdulali draws on her experiences and her work with countless survivors to write “a thoughtful, generous, unflinching look at rape and rape culture.” She asks the tough questions about how we think and talk about rape, survivors, and the future.

I Never Called It Rape: The Ms. Report on Recognizing, Fighting, and Surviving Date and Acquaintance Rape

by Robin Warshaw (1988; updated 2019)

This book tackles the context of rape as a cultural problem, helping survivors and community members understand what it looks like, how it functions, and how to address it.

Queering Sexual Violence: Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Violence Movement

edited by Jennifer Patterson (2016)

This book is a thirty-seven piece collection queering the issue of sexual violence. It centres the experience of queer survivors, tying their liberation to disability justice, sex worker rights, racial justice, queer and trans liberation, prison abolition, and more.

No More Excuses: Dismantling Rape Culture

by Amber J. Keyser (2019)

After #MeToo and #TimesUp in 2017, conversations around rape culture expanded too. In this book, the author discusses the patriarchal constructs supporting rape culture and how to dismantle them: by redefining healthy manhood and sexuality, believing victims, improving social and legal systems and workplace environments, evaluating media with a critical eye, and standing up to speak out.

Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape

by Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman (2019)

The authors put forward the idea that if everyone were taught to value female sexuality and pleasure, it would lead to viewing women differently — and that would lead to an end of rape. They show us that rape culture is not inevitable; it is, in fact, changeable — a better future is possible!

Asking for It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture — and What We Can Do About It

by Kate Harding (2015)

In Asking for It, the author combines eye-opening research with frank discussion, making a strong case that America supports rapists more than victims. She tackles institutional failures in higher education, gives real-world examples of rape culture, and offers suggestions for how society can “take sexual violence much more seriously without compromising the rights of the accused.”

Transforming a Rape Culture

edited by Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher, and Martha Roth (1993; updated 2005)

“This groundbreaking work seeks nothing less than fundamental cultural change: the transformation of basic attitudes about power, gender, race, and sexuality.”

The Way We Survive: Notes on Rape Culture

by Catriona Morton (2021)

In this title, Catriona Morton provides a cultural critique of rape culture in the UK. She also offers personal insights into how survivors recover and cope in the aftermath of assault. She seeks to change the narrative around survivors and reconsider how we talk about surviving sexual violence.

Eggshell Skull: A Memoir About Standing Up, Speaking Out and Fighting Back

by Bri Lee

Bri grew up in Australia as the daughter of a police officer. She went on to law school and became a judge’s associate. Throughout, one thing was clear to her: justice looks different if you’re a woman. The daily injustices she bore witness to in the system made her finally look inward and backward — she has her own story that she never thought she’d tell. Eggshell Skull is a memoir of her reckoning.

Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl

by Jeannie Vanasco (2019)

Jeannie Vanasco has had nightmares since she was a teenager. The same one, about a boy named Mark. He was one of her closest friends in high school, and he raped her. When her nightmares get worse, after fourteen years, she reaches out to him, and he agrees to talk to her. “Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl is part memoir, part true crime record, and part testament to the strength of female friendships.”

No Matter Our Wreckage: A Memoir About Grooming, Betrayal, Trauma and Love

by Gemma Carey

When she was 12, Gemma Carey was regularly assaulted by an older man. Her mother knew but did not intervene or speak to her about it. When Gemma was older, she took him to court without anyone knowing, and he was put on the registry. Now, years later, her mother is dying. Gemma asks herself: why didn’t her mother do anything for her? Maybe the answer is in her mother’s past.

Written on the Body: Letters from Trans and Non-Binary Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

edited by Lexie Bean

This collection of letters is by and for trans and nonbinary survivors of sexual violence and domestic abuse. It offers support, guidance, and hope as it weaves together letters written to different parts of the body.

The Hunting Ground: The Inside Story of Sexual Assault on American College Campuses

by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering (2015)

This is a companion book to the documentary film of the same name, giving an inside perspective on the battle being waged against rape culture on campuses.

We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out

by Annie E. Clark and Andrea L. Pino

We Believe You is a groundbreaking book written by young activists on the front lines of campus rape culture and the repeated mishandling of complaints by universities and the police. The authors highlight stories that get missed and don’t get reported, and show how important and necessary change is.

Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus

by Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan (2020)

In Sexual Citizens, the authors present a comprehensive study of sexual assault on a campus and a new framework emphasizing the social roots of sexual assault. This transcends debates about consent or the dangers of hook-up culture. Instead, their study “reveals the social ecosystem that makes sexual assault so predictable.”

Know My Name: A Memoir

by Chanel Miller (2019)

If you are not familiar with the name Chanel Miller, you may be familiar with her attacker’s name: Brock Turner. In this memoir, Chanel Miller reclaims her name, her story, and her power. Her words illuminate “a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.”

Silent No More: Victim 1’s Fight for Justice Against Jerry Sandusky

by Aaron Fisher (2012)

Aaron Fisher bravely tells his story of being groomed, abused, and assaulted as a child by legendary Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, including how he fought to bring Sandusky’s crimes to light and seek justice.

Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood

by Stephen Mills (2022)

In this searing memoir, Stephen Mills grapples with the grooming and sexual abuse he experienced as a child at the hands of an older man at summer camp. Stephen doesn’t tell anyone, but it impacts every part of his life, from nightmares to drug use to petty crime. After physical and mental collapse, Mills begins to confront his past and seek justice.

You Made Me This Way: A Powerful Personal Investigation into Trauma, Hope and Healing

by Shannon Molloy (2023)

“Part memoir, part investigation into the taboo topic of male child sexual abuse, You Made Me This Way is a very personal book, driven by Shannon revealing his own experience of having been sexually abused as a young child, and his grappling to understand how this has shaped him.”

Beyond Betrayal: Taking Charge of Your Life after Boyhood Sexual Abuse

by Richard B. Gartner (2005)

In this book, Gartner draws on years of experience working with male survivors. With compassion, he explores how to find hope, support, and healing in the aftermath of abuse.

Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence — From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

by Dr. Judith Herman (1992)

This groundbreaking work changed how we think about and treat trauma, and it remains as relevant as ever. Trauma and Recovery “puts individual experience in a broader political frame, arguing that psychological trauma can be understood only in a social context.”

The Rape Recovery Handbook: Step-by-Step Help for Survivors of Sexual Assault

by Aphrodite Matsakis (2003)

This handbook does just what it sounds like it would: it provides a step-by-step framework for survivors of sexual assault to understand, cope with, and heal from their trauma.

Life, Reinvented: A Guide to Healing from Sexual Trauma for Survivors and Loved Ones

by Erin Carpenter (2014)

In Life, Reinvented, the author combines research, clinical experience, and firsthand accounts to help survivors find inspiration and practical guidance for healing.

Whatever Gets You Through: Twelve Survivors on Life After Sexual Assault

edited by Stacey May Fowles and Jen Sookfong Lee (2019)

Reports of sexual assault seem to be in the news daily, especially in the wake of #MeToo. However, a great deal is left out of the picture in the media. Sexual violence is not a horrible moment that stays in the past — it lives with and in survivors every day. Here, twelve survivors discuss the nitty-gritty, the ins and outs of survivorhood in the aftermath. These writers discuss the pain and trauma, but they highlight the strength and resilience that can emerge too.

Ask: Building Consent Culture

edited by Kitty Stryker (2017)

To resist and dismantle rape culture, we need to build a culture of consent. This collection of essays asks how consent can empower people in and out of the bedroom.

Good Sexual Citizenship: How to Create a (Sexually) Safer World

by Ellen Friedrichs (2019)

Good Sexual Citizenship is a call to action for everyone. The author first lays the groundwork with an overview of the social and historical backdrop of inequality that underpins sexual violence and injustice. “Covering many topics like consent, sexual assault, pleasure, double standards, casual sex and hook-up culture, and teen sex, [the author] provides tools to navigate societal messages, sexually hostile climates, stereotypes, and archaic behavior and mentalities.”

Learning Good Consent: On Healthy Relationships and Survivor Support

by Cindy Crabb

Relationships are so important, and it’s key to build ethical ones. But things can get messy with sex, consent, abuse, and support. This collection serves both as a guide to help prevent sexual violence and as support for those who have survived it.