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Sexual Violence in Australia, 1970s–1980s

Rape and Child Sexual Abuse

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Lisa Featherstone

    1. University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

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  • Explores sexual violence and crime in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s, a period of intense social and legal change
  • Poses difficult questions, such as why did Australia not act more firmly to eradicate rape and child sexual abuse
  • Looks to the future, questioning whether despite significant legal progress, sexual violence remains insurmountable

Part of the book series: World Histories of Crime, Culture and Violence (WHCCV)

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction: Sexual Violence

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 1-34

  3. The Problem of Rape

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 35-62

  4. Rape, Feminism and Culture in the 1970s

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 63-81

  5. What to Do with the Victims?

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 83-105

  6. Child Sexual Assault in the 1970s

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 107-126

  7. Rape Law Reform in the 1970s and 1980s

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 127-155

  8. Reconceptualising Child Sexual Assault in the 1980s

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 157-188

  9. Child Sexual Assault in Institutions

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 189-205

  10. Institutions: Disclosure and Failure To Act

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 207-230

  11. The 1980s Courtroom

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 231-253

  12. Conclusion: The Failure of Change

    • Lisa Featherstone
    Pages 255-270

  13. Back Matter

    Pages 271-304
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Keywords

About this book

This book explores sexual violence and crime in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s, a period of intense social and legal change. Driven by the sexual revolutions, second wave feminism, and ideas of the rights of the child, there was a new public interest in the sexual assault of women and children. Sexual abuse was studied, surveyed and discussed more than ever before in Australian society. Yet, despite this, there remained substantial inaction, by government, from community and on the part of individuals. This book examines several difficult questions of our recent history: why did Australia not act more firmly to eradicate rape and child sexual abuse? What prevented our culture from looking seriously at trauma? How did we fail to protect victim-survivors? Rich in social and legal history, this study takes readers into the world of victims of sexual crime, and into the wider community that had to deal with sexual violence. At the core of this book is the question that resonates deeply right now: why does sexual violence appear seemingly insurmountable, despite significant change?

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Lisa Featherstone

About the author

Lisa Featherstone is an Australian historian and Head of History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland, Australia. Her work focuses on sexuality, medicine and the law. She is interested in the ways these authoritative discourses intersect around the body, in particular around sexual violence. Featherstone has published widely on sexual crimes, including child sexual abuse and rape in marriage. She is the author of two previous monographs, Let’s Talk About Sex: Histories of Sexuality in Australia from Federation to the Pill, and Sex Crimes in the 1950s (co-authored with Andy Kaladelfos). The latter was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Prize. She has published extensively in international and local journals in history and gender studies, including articles in Gender and History, Women’s History Review, Feminist Legal Studies, Australian Historical Studies and The Journal of the History of Sexuality. 


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Sexual Violence in Australia, 1970s–1980s

  • Book Subtitle: Rape and Child Sexual Abuse

  • Authors: Lisa Featherstone

  • Series Title: World Histories of Crime, Culture and Violence

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73310-0

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-73309-4Published: 29 July 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-73312-4Published: 29 July 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-73310-0Published: 28 July 2021

  • Series ISSN: 2730-9630

  • Series E-ISSN: 2730-9649

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: X, 304

  • Topics: History, general, Modern History, Legal History, Crime and Society

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