Laws and Policies

This report describes the work of a joint project between the NSVRC and the Urban Institute, in which a team of staff from both agencies developed an improved taxonomy (a system of categorization) for reports of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and sexual assault received by Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), from users of Uber's ride-sharing and other app-driven services. This improved taxonomy helps Uber to more effectively categorize reports of these sexually violent experiences, which in turn helps Uber to better determine the most appropriate outreach and ultimate action taken in response to each report.

The report also discusses the implications of this improved taxonomy for Uber's creation of transparency reports for sexual violence, and ways that this taxonomy and its method of development can improve similar efforts in other businesses and industries.

In June 2017, comedian Bill Cosby will stand trial for aggravated indecent assault of a woman in his Montgomery County home more than a decade ago. The following fact sheet provides important context on sexual violence, including victim behavior and trauma, offender dynamics, and the use of drugs and alcohol to perpetrate sexual violence, to members of the media covering the trial and other interested parties.

This publication explores how sexual violence is portrayed in the news and considers the implications of these portrayals for prevention advocates and journalists interested in discussing not just the details of sexual violence, but also how to end it. The findings lay the foundation for ongoing work to define more effective messages about sexual violence that can support prevention policies.

This work is part of a multi-year collaboration between the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and Berkeley Media Studies Group.