Oral Content
Topic: Speaking out about sexual assault
Purpose: To discuss the importance of society providing an outlet for sexual assault survivors to share their stories.
Thesis: Survivors of sexual assault should be encouraged by society to share their stories whether it be publicly or privately.
Attention Strategy: I will start with a story about my aunt being sexually assaulted by her uncle at the age of three. I will explain that because people “didn’t talk about stuff like that” back then, she now can’t even dress herself due to PTSD, and that uncle works with children in a school.
Main Idea #1: Studies have concluded that discussing sexual assault with others such as a therapist can benefit the survivor.
Support: Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience
Main Idea #2: Speaking out publicly against sexual assault led to the anti-rape movement as well as the #MeToo Movement
Support: If it weren’t for the brave women who shared their stories in the 1970s, the Anti-Rape Movement would’ve never occurred, and rape laws today would still be extremely unfair.
Support: The #MeToo Movement exposed just how often sexual assault was occurring and caused a shift in society’s untrue beliefs about sexual assault.
Main Idea #3: If survivors are supported by society when they tell their stories, they force the legal system to recognize and punish perpetrators.
Support: If a victim is not supported by society, that victim will most likely be deterred from reporting the rape to the police, and this rapist will go unpunished. If the rapist knows that they can get away with this crime without any legal action being taken, they will be more likely to rape again in the future.
Conclusion: Society needs to support sexual assault survivors by allowing them to tell their stories without judgement. Would my aunt be okay now if she would’ve gotten help in the past? Would she be doing better if her assaulter was behind bars?
Visual Content
First Slide: Title Slide
Second Slide: Facts about how common sexual assault is and how often it is punished
Third Slide: Quote from Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience and therapy picture
“Survivors of sexual assault can benefit from several types of psychotherapy including psychodynamic psychotherapy, TF-CBT, and EMDR. Processing abuse and trauma is a helpful and necessary step to recovery” (Cowan, et al.).
Fourth Slide: Photos from the Anti-Rape and #MeToo movements.
Fifth Slide: Putting Sexual Assaulters Behind Bars
Sixth Slide: Resources