Tag: sexual assault

Can We Not Publish a Coloring Book Romanticizing Domestic Abuse?

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By Emily Park

UPDATE: Colleen Hoover canceled the coloring book and deleted her announcement hours after this went live. Catcall still stands by this editorial. For further explanation, read the afterword below the original story.

I’ve long been on the fence about how I feel about Colleen Hoover (CoHo). The best-selling author has sold over 20 million books, and in 2022 she sold more copies than the Bible…2.4 million more copies. Normally, I’d worship a woman who’s taking the book industry by storm, but CoHo is not someone I can celebrate. 

The last straw for me? The January 10 announcement of a coloring book for It Ends With Us, a novel about domestic violence. But before I get to the hopefully obvious issues with that, let me backtrack.

I’ve read four CoHo novels: Ugly Love, It Ends With Us, All Your Perfects, and November 9. For my personal reading choices, November 9 ended any intrigue I had regarding the rest of her books. I’m not trying to gatekeep anyone from reading the books they enjoy, so if you think you’ll read November 9 and don’t want a (smallish) spoiler, skip the next paragraph. 

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New National SASH Club Program Empowers Youth to Confront Sexual Harassment and Assault

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By Nicole Mitchell

When I was in high school, I was sexually harassed. This boy, a year older than me, would follow me around school daily, which made me uncomfortable. One time I even remember him pretending to drop something so he could look up my skirt. Actually, I wasn’t the only person he did that to. There were plenty of other young high school girls going through the same thing because of this person. At the time, there was nothing I could do about it. I was confused and had nowhere to go.

This has to change, and thankfully, there are programs being put in place that will help young people understand what sexual harassment really is and take a stand against it today. Stop Sexual Assault in Schools has created and launched its new initiative SASH Club to empower youth ages 13+ to take action against sexual harassment and assault.

SASH Club provides a set of free online, ready-to-use tools on their website for teens of all genders, races, ethnicities, and orientations to start the discussion and educate themselves and others about sexual harassment and assault, support survivors, and make real change in their schools and communities.

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The Wolf

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By Reese Bentzinger
Photo by Justina Kellner

Content Warning: Sexual assault.

You’re so pretty baby 
He shoots me a grin, pearly whites 
turned neon by strobe lights. I turn to the bartender 
thank her as she slides me a fireball shot. Close my fist 
make crisp dollar bills crumple like leaves. He slides over his card before I 

Whatever you want baby 
I offer a polite smile, and he gives me an unwanted hand 
that draws me over to a leather couch, his hunting ground. Precious stones claw into my skin
drawing blood as they leave his mark on my palm. He eyes my dress, 
red silk, and wants to know what I would 

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I Publicly Came Forward with my Assailant: One Year Later

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By Hannah Strader

Last March, I was sitting peacefully on my balcony at 7:40 A.M., enjoying unseasonably nice weather and a warm cup of coffee. As I always do, I was running through my Instagram feed and catching up with notifications. Moments later, I was triggered and had to set down my phone.

Planet Comicon was coming up, and on the guest list was DC and Marvel writer Jai Nitz. The man twice my age who forcibly kissed me, held me trapped against his body, and relentlessly asked me to kiss him or touch him or have sex with him. I met him in one of my journalism classes at Kansas University, where he was invited to speak as a guest. 

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The Fork in the #MeToo Road

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By Heather McNamara

If you’ve been paying attention to the backlash after the story on Babe.net wherein a woman named Grace describes a very unsettling date with Aziz Ansari, your feelings on the #MeToo movement may recently have muddied a bit.

The original article is difficult to read. Grace met Aziz, gave him her number, agreed to a date, and ended up at his apartment. He made some pretty bold moves, grabbing her hand and putting it on his genitals and sticking his fingers in her mouth over and over. She never said no, but she did move away and ask him to slow down. She said “next time.” But he kept pushing and eventually, she relented. Grace never called what happened “rape” but she made it pretty clear that Ansari’s advances were unwelcome.

Photo by Sean Kong

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