Source: Lecture 6 | UC Berkeley, A Comparative Survey of Racial and Ethnic Groups in the U.S.
Tags: sexual assault, rape, race, gender, intersectionality, Black women, women of colour, Jezebel stereotype, Sarah Baartman, double burden, culture of silence, criminal justice bias, Me Too movement, Tarana Burke, Sandra Bland
Sexual assault is a widespread but underreported crisis in the United States, and the problem is compounded for Black women and other women of colour by intersecting systems of racial and gender oppression. Historical stereotypes (such as the "Jezebel" myth), institutional distrust of the police and courts, and systemic bias at every stage of the criminal justice process, from reporting through conviction, create a layered set of barriers that discourage reporting and reduce the likelihood of justice.
Sexual assault
Any form of non-consensual sexual contact. Described in this lecture as a "silent national epidemic" because of how rarely it is discussed or reported.
Intersectionality
The idea that overlapping social identities (race, gender, class) produce compounding disadvantages. Explains why women of colour face additional barriers to reporting sexual violence.
Jezebel stereotype
A racist trope applied to Black women, rooted in the biblical figure associated with sexual temptation. Used historically to frame Black women as hypersexual and therefore "unrapeable."
Sarah Baartman (Hottentot Venus)
A South African Khoikhoi woman kidnapped and displayed naked across Europe in the early 1800s. European pseudo-scientists used her body to claim Black women possessed animalistic sexuality. After her death, her brain and genitalia were removed and displayed in the Louvre.
Culture of silence
The historical and ongoing pattern in which Black women do not report sexual violence, shaped by distrust of police, racial loyalty, and the knowledge that the system is unlikely to believe them.
Double burden
The bind facing Black women who are sexually assaulted: the criminal justice system is biased against Black men (making reporting feel like a betrayal of community) and simultaneously does not believe the testimony of Black women.
Sandra Bland
A Black woman arrested during a traffic stop for allegedly assaulting a police officer. Found dead in her jail cell three days later. Cited in the lecture as an example of police violence against Black women that receives less public attention.
Me Too movement
Founded by Tarana Burke in 2006 to support survivors of sexual violence through empowerment and empathy. Later gained mainstream visibility in 2017.
Approximately 1 in 6 women has been the victim of attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed, 2.8% attempted)
Someone is sexually assaulted every two minutes in the U.S.
Around 213,000 victims of sexual assault each year
44% of victims are under 18; 80% are under 30
60% of sexual assaults go unreported to police
15 out of 16 rapists will never spend a day in jail
Two-thirds of assaults are committed by someone the victim knows
38% of rapists are a friend or acquaintance of the victim
Intersectionality is the key framework here. Being both Black and female in a system dominated by white men creates layered obstacles. Only about 7% of Black women who are sexually assaulted report the crime to police, and 13 out of 14 who are assaulted do not tell police at all.
The reasons run deep:
Historical dehumanisation: during slavery, rape of Black women was systematic and not legally recognised as a crime. Black women were labelled "unrapeable."
The Jezebel stereotype framed Black women as inherently sexual, a narrative that persists in media (particularly mainstream hip hop and music videos) and continues to shape public perception.
The culture of silence is reinforced by centuries of institutional racism.
The double burden means Black women must weigh reporting against the knowledge that the system brutalises Black men and disbelieves Black women simultaneously.
The police
Not seen as those who "protect and serve" but rather as those who "exploit and abuse." Only 7% of Black women report.
The District Attorney
When an African American victim does report, the prosecutor is less likely to file charges than if a white woman made a similar report (Elizabeth Kennedy, Harvard JD).
The jury
Mock juror studies found that jurors are more likely to believe the assailant of a white woman is guilty than the assailant of a Black woman.
When evidence is neutral or indeterminate (as in most cases that go to trial), jurors tend to view that evidence as more favourable to the prosecution when the victim is white.
A study of actual jurors showed that decision-makers are less likely to believe in a defendant's guilt when the accuser is Black.
"Date rape" is perceived as less serious when the victim is Black. Mock jurors were less likely to believe a crime had occurred or that the assailant should be held responsible.
The underlying perception: "Black women are not only unrapeable, but they're also strong, so they can handle it."
The conviction
A study of actual trial outcomes found that victim and defendant race together affect the seriousness of the charge, the severity of the sentence, the type of facility, and the length of the term. When a Black man was convicted of raping a white woman, he was:
More likely to be charged with a felony
More likely to receive a jail term
More likely to serve in a state penitentiary rather than a local facility
Given a longer sentence on average
This pattern did not hold for other defendant–victim racial combinations.
Mainstream hip hop videos, often directed by Black men within a white-dominated industry, objectify Black women in ways that echo the Hottentot Venus spectacle.
Media oversexualisation of Black women enters the broader American consciousness and reinforces stereotypes that make violence against them seem less serious.
Oakland is noted as a case study in sex trafficking.
The lecture notes a "second, silent pandemic": abuse against women skyrocketed during COVID-19 lockdowns.
⚠️ Intersectionality is the core analytical framework for this lecture. Be able to explain how race and gender compound to create unique barriers for Black women reporting sexual assault.
⚠️ Know the Jezebel stereotype and its historical roots (Sarah Baartman), and be ready to connect it to modern media representations.
⚠️ The double burden is a likely exam concept: the tension between reporting to a system that harms Black men and disbelieves Black women.
⚠️ Be able to trace bias through each stage of the criminal justice process: police, DA, jury, conviction. The studies cited in lecture are the kind of evidence that appears in exam questions.
⚠️ The distinction between how white and Black victims are treated in the system is central. The mock juror studies and the actual trial outcomes study are key evidence.
Q: What is the "double burden" that Black women face when deciding whether to report sexual assault?
A: Black women know that the criminal justice system is unfairly biased against Black men, so reporting feels like turning their community over to a system that abuses and exploits them. At the same time, the system does not believe the word of Black women. They are caught between racial loyalty and the knowledge that justice is unlikely even if they do report.
Q: How does the Jezebel stereotype connect to the underreporting of sexual violence against Black women?
A: The Jezebel stereotype frames Black women as inherently hypersexual, a myth rooted in the exploitation of women like Sarah Baartman during slavery. This stereotype persists in media and shapes the perception that Black women cannot be raped or that sexual violence against them is less serious, which discourages reporting and reduces the likelihood of being believed.
Q: At which stages of the criminal justice process does racial bias affect outcomes for Black women who report sexual assault?
A: Bias operates at every stage. Police are distrusted and underutilised (only 7% of Black women report). Prosecutors are less likely to file charges when the victim is Black. Jurors are less likely to believe the assailant is guilty when the victim is Black, and view neutral evidence as less favourable to the prosecution. Convictions and sentences are lighter when the victim is Black compared to when she is white.
Q: What is intersectionality and why is it relevant to sexual assault reporting?
A: Intersectionality is the concept that overlapping social identities (e.g. race and gender) create compounding disadvantages. For Black women, being both Black and female means facing racism and sexism simultaneously, which creates unique barriers to reporting sexual violence that neither white women nor Black men face in the same way.
Q: Who founded the Me Too movement and when?
A: Tarana Burke founded the Me Too movement in 2006, with a focus on empowerment through empathy for survivors of sexual violence.
sexual assault, rape, race and gender, intersectionality, women of colour, WOC, Black women, Jezebel stereotype, Hottentot Venus, Sarah Baartman, culture of silence, double burden, criminal justice bias, police distrust, jury bias, racial bias in sentencing, Me Too, #MeToo, Tarana Burke, Sandra Bland, sex trafficking, Oakland, COVID-19 sexual violence, silent epidemic, victim credibility, mock juror studies, Elizabeth Kennedy, media stereotypes, hip hop and objectification, Ethnic Studies 21AC, UC Berkeley