The Rape Tax: Understanding the Financial Consequences of Sexual Assault and Trauma

What are the consequences of sexual assault? How much does a sexual assault cost a person of their time, educational attainment, income, and ambitions? The goal of the course is to introduce undergraduate students to the relevant perspectives and academic research on the educational and economic consequences of sexual assault. Using a sociological lens, we will explore how experiences of sexual assault are consequential for individuals' lives beyond their physical or emotional well-being by examining how sexual assault may affect individuals' abilities to make ends meet. After briefly surveying the social determinants of sexual assault, this course will dive deeply into exploring the costs of sexual assault including the costs of reporting and engaging in the legal system, the costs to an individual's educational trajectory, the costs to an individual's ability to seek and maintain employment, the costs to making ends meet financially, and the macro-level costs for society. After surveying the literature, students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge by learning about conducting research on sexual assault as an undergraduate student, designing their own research proposal, or volunteering with an organization that engages in work on sexual assault.