Ten Things You Can Do to Transform a Rape Culture

This list was compiled from the essays in Transforming a Rape Culture, edited by Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher, Martha Roth. (Milkweed Editions, 1993). http://milkweed.org

	Speak up. Do not listen quietly to sexist jokes or comments. Tell your friends that you are uncomfortable with how they portray women.
	Teach children to respect children of the opposite gender. Model for them that each sex has an immeasurable value and that neither is better, more powerful, smarter, than the other.
	Support your daughters, nieces, and neighbours. Encourage them to relish their physical strength and the strength of their minds.
	Do not be silent when you see a T-shirt, sign, movie or anything you find offensive to women. Say something.
	Encourage men you know to explore what it means to be anti-rapists.
	Have conversations of consent with a potential sexual partner. Verbally explore each others comfort level with the activities taking place.
	Learn to say "no". Learn that it is okay to be assertive. Know that it is possible to be nice while exerting your feelings.
	Support and promote women who provide positive role models. Celebrate the accomplishments of women with your children, partners, and friends. Teach others that the best women to look up to are the ones who are making a difference, not the ones who are the most famous, beautiful or wealthy.
	Remember that the rape culture is one for which we’re all responsible.
	Dare to dream of a culture free of sexual violence... a rape culture transformed.