The Essays of Rebecca Solnit

AoE: Time & Space

This is the FINAL hyperdoc investigation of the semester!!! And, yes, it is blank! Your goal at this point
in the course is to display that you are capable of conducting your own research on an author and his
or her text, in order to learn the historical and cultural context needed to both understand and
appreciate the piece of literature! Therefore, determine for yourself what is some background
knowledge you might need to know before embarking on the essays of Rebecca Solnit, identify specific
categories in the headings above each section, find your own credible sources, and bullet point sufficient
research information below so that you are ready to begin our final unit this week!

Background
#1:

1. Background knowledge
a. What do you already know about sexual assault/
harassment issues?
I know that it happens more often than people
realize and that it is more common in women but
still happens in men as well. I also know that
victims have a very hard time standing up for
themselves and using their voice afterwards
because of the trauma they experience.
b. Do any specific names come to mind? Any
specific gender?
I honestly know very little about these cases and
have not heard or remembered specific names
from them but I do know that women have a
higher chance experiencing it so I tend to think of
women when it comes up.

2. Define the following:

a. Sexual Harassment: behavior including
unwelcome/ inappropriate sexual comments or
phsycial advances usually in a professional
settings
b. Sexual Assault: any type of sexual activity or
contact done without consent
c. Sexual Abuse: abusive sexual behavior from one
person onto another
d. Rape: illegal sexual activity/ intercourse done
without the person’s willingness, done forcefully,
and often using threats

Gender Distinctions
#2:

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 1. Personal experience
a. Have you ever had any personal experiences or
know someone who has?
Almost every girl I know has had some kind of
situation with this including some cases of rape. I
personally have been followed to my car multiple
times and now have to lock the doors as soon as I
get in. I have also had a car pull up next to me at
night and stop and I had to turn down the
driveway I was at and pretend it was my house to
avoid danger.
b. Did you tell anyone about the situation?
I never even told my friends or family because I
was too afraid and I felt that I would lose my
walking or driving privileges because my parents
may overreact.
c. If you were someone of the opposite gender, do
you think you would have spoken up more or less?
If I was a guy, I feel that I probably would not
have been as scared and I would have been more
confident that I could fight somebody off. I
probably would have told my friends because I
would not be too worried about anything
happening in the future.

2. Read this article and answer the questions.

a. What percent of women have experienced some
form of sexual harassment during their lifetime?
What percentage of men?
81% of woman have experienced some kind of
sexual harassment and 43% of men have.
b. Do these numbers surprise you?
The fact that women have almost twice as many
cases does not surprise me but I was shocked to
realize how many men face the same problems. I
feel that men are expected to suppress their
feelings so it's less common to hear about their
experiences.
c. Why do you think there is a difference between
the gender percentages?
I think many men think they are physically
stronger than women and they use their
aggression and masculinity to their advantage
with women. I also feel that men are much lower
because it is harder for a woman to harm a man
without getting a lot of violence in return.

#3:
Investigate
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 Read this report and record 5 of the most important statistics
you found.
1. Only about 11% of sexual assault cases are between 2
individuals that have a romantic relationship with one
another.
2. 17% of victims were merely female acquaintances to their
offender.
3. The majority of sexual assault victims are between 10
and 19 years of age.
4. Only about 14% of sexual assault cases stemmed fromt
he offender being under the influence of drugs or
alcohol.
5. Most sexual assault cases actually took place in a
residence/ home environment.

Reflection
1. What were the similarities between these reports and
your preconceptions about most cases?
I did believe that most victims were of a young age and
the majority of them were teenagers. I also believed that
most cases were not because of romantic relationships
and were from random other relationships.
2. What were the differences?
I did not realize that most cases occur in homes. I always
believed that they occurred in public areas or at bars
and outside establishments. I also thought that many
more cases had to do with alcohol or drugs because so
many people argue against sexual assault cases by
using that as an excuse.

Application
#4:

Read the following article about the common denominator

and answer the following questions.
1. Which names and examples does the author begin
with? What did he/she say each case has in common?
The author mentions Harvey Weinstein, Mark Halperin,
and Dave McClure. It was also pointed out that in every
case, the offender had economic advantage over their
female victims who were colleagues or employees.
2. Why is sexual assault/ harassment so common in
workplaces?
It is common in workplaces because the victims need to
keep their job and need the money so they don’t
confront their offender or report the problem.
3. How do lawyers actually hurt the situations?

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 Most of the time, offenders are wealthier and can
afford well-trained lawyers while the victims may
struggle financially to get a lawyer to defend their case.
This gives offenders an edge because the victims may
not even report the case because they feel they will still
lose even if the lawyers get involved.

How does this apply to you:

1. What are some ways you can help victims?
We can help victims by spreading awareness of their
cases and reposting so that more people learn about
this issue. We can also help by sharing our stories if we
have any and warning others of ways to stay safe and
what to watch out for. Additionally, getting together
with groups of individuals to talk about these issues can
allow more people to open up and speak up about it so
that victims know they are not alone. Lastly, we should
make sure that all victims from both genders and all
races know they are heard.
2. What can you do to stay safe? Any advice for others?
A few things you can do are locking your car doors as
soon as you get in. This can help if you are being
followed and someone tries to open your car door. Also,
you should try to avoid areas where there are no people
around or where it is dark. It is safer to stay by large
crowds or make sure you are with friends. Always being
alert of where you are and who is around you will also
help you if you need to quickly escape or outsmart an
attacker. Just make sure you keep an eye out for other
girls or guys who seem very uncomfortable when talking
to someone else and make sure you do your best to help
them.

Grading Rubric:

Score Grading Criteria

10 Points Properly identifies each category of investigation,

implements numerous credible sources for each category,
and sufficiently researches pertinent information about the
author, including her personal bio, career, celebrated texts,
thematic focuses, etc.

7 Points Identifies numerous categories of investigation and

implements multiple sources for research, though some
information is insufficient and lacking and/or some sources
may not be credible.

4 Points Does not meet the main objective identified in the

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 instructions and shows a considerable lack of effort.

0 Points You’re being moved to ERWC next year.

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