The Legal Network for Gender Equity and TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund hosted a webinar on “Un(believable) What We Hear and Believe when Certain Survivors Speak Out about Sexual Violence,” on March 9, 2022.

This discussion addressed how stereotypes and biases about the ways that survivors of sexual violence appear or present influence perceptions of their credibility. The discussion focused on stereotypes and bias surrounding physical body shape and size, race, disability (particularly unseen disabilities), and gender expression, and included an exploration of how these biases may be intertwined and strategies for disrupting such bias as advocates and allies.

Our speakers included:

  • Zoe Gross (she/her), Director of Advocacy, Autistic Self Advocacy Network
  • Jaribu Hill (she/her), Executive Director, Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights
  • Hunter Iannucci (they/them), MARGARET Fund Fellow, National Women’s Law Center
  • Virgie Tovar (she/her), Author, Contributor for Forbes.com
  • Deborah Tuerkheimer (she/her), Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law; Author, “Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers”

Copies of the slides and speaker biographies are available for download on this page.

These webinars and the accompanying materials have been prepared for attorneys in the National Women’s Law Center’s (NWLC) Legal Network for Gender Equity and for informational purposes only.  The provision of this material does not create an attorney-client relationship between any attorney at NWLC and the reader and does not constitute legal advice. Organizations and individuals are encouraged to contact a lawyer licensed in their jurisdiction for advice on their specific circumstances.