"My boss started grabbing my breasts when he found
out"
"I have a friend who may lose her job"
"Simply, I was beaten up due to the jerk thinking that
[my S/M] meant [I was] free game to beat up and rape"
Harassment of and discrimination against women who choose to
engage in S/M practices is an everyday occurrence. That so many women in this
community are "in the closet" makes them particularly vulnerable.
Of the first 200 people responding to NCSF National Survey
of Violence and Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities:
36% have experienced discrimination
37% have experienced violence or harassment
80% are not completely "out"*
This was a direct result of their consensual involvement in
S/M or other sexual minority practices;
attempting to remain closeted is not a defense. Of those who
suffered harassment or assault, 96% never reported the crime.
Not all violence against S/M women is perpetrated by men. A
nationwide study in 1994 found that, of 539 lesbian and bisexual S/M women
surveyed:
56% had experienced discrimination or violence from other
women within the lesbian community because of their participation in consensual
S/M
47% had experienced harassment from other women
30% had experienced discrimination
25% had experienced physical assault.**
"Regardless of personal feelings and opinions about
consensual BDSM, no one has the right to harass, discriminate against, or
physically assault S/M women."**
*Violence and Discrimination Against You: National Coalition
for Sexual Freedom, 1998.
**Violence against S/M Women Within the Lesbian Community: A
Nation-Wide Survey. Sponsored by Female Trouble of Philadelphia. Copyright 1994
by Jad Keres.
A growing community of SM/leather/fetish activists, all of
whom recognize the distinction between S/M and abuse, are fighting for freedom
of sexual expression among consenting adults. S/M activists who are also
Members of the National Organization for Women (NOW) have created the Sexual
Freedom Now project to promote sexual self-determination for women.