Information > Sexual Assault  > Sexual Assault and Women of Color

Assumptions about race make women of color vulnerable to sexual assault in a number of ways.  Sexual violence committed against women of color is often seen as insignificant and/or acceptable and is justified by stereotypes of women of color that serve to portray these women as "unrapeable."  The sexual assault of women of color shows the intersection of sexism and racism.  Sexual assault has traditionally been used by men to disempower and frighten women, just as racism has been used to disempower and frighten people of color.  The sexual assault of women of color, therefore, is often a combination of both racist and sexist attitudes. These attitudes, compounded with certain stereotypes, magnify the sexual vulnerability of various groups of women of color.

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