Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT

THE JUDICIAL LANGUAGE PROJECT AT THE CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 
AT NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF LAW ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST CONFERENCE:

THE TROUBLING LANGUAGE OF RAPE: HOW EROTICISM, GENDER MYTHS AND VICTIM 
BLAMING AFFECT SOCIAL AND LEGAL DISCOURSE.

WHEN:  SATURDAY MARCH 24, 2007 - 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
WHERE:  NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF LAW, 154 STUART STREET, BOSTON, MA 02116
CONFIRMED PRESENTERS: 
Tory Bowen, Victim Advocate
Ross Cheit, Brown University
Linda Coates, Okanagan College
Justice Robert Cordy, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Lisa Cromer, SUNY Medical
Susan Ehrlich, York University
Toni Irving, University of Notre Dame
Penny Pether, Villanova Law School
Wendy Murphy, New England School of Law
Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe

REGISTRATION IS FREE, BUT SPACE IS LIMITED - REGISTRATION BEGINS  JANUARY 16, 
2007

Language affects all aspects of our lives - socially, culturally and legally. 
Rape myths and the use of erotic and sexualized language continue to permeate 
the discourse surrounding sexual assault, in both the media and the 
courtroom.  This conference will bring linguists, social scientists, and 
legal scholars together to take a critical look at the language used in 
sexual assault discourse. 

The conference is offered by the Judicial Language Project (JLP) at the 
Center for Law and Social Responsibility. The JLP, the only project of its 
kind in the country, uses socio-linguistic research to identify problematic 
language in judicial opinions for the purpose of focusing the attention of 
the judiciary, the bar, community activists and the public on its harmful 
impact.  In doing so, participants in the JLP hope to reduce the use of 
needlessly erotic, sexist, minimizing or “blaming” language to describe 
sexually violent behavior, and to thereby affect society's perceptions of 
sexual assault.  

Panelists from a variety of disciplines will discuss the relationship between 
language and topics such as sexual violence and gender, rape myths, race and 
rape, and child sexual abuse.  The objectives of the program are: to reveal 
the discourse of rape, including the language used and its effect on victims, 
societal attitudes and justice; to describe the work and findings of the JLP; 
and to build a network among panelists and conference participants to expand 
on this type of work. 

For more information or to register for the conference, please contact 
Stephanie Sprague at 

 or call 617-422-7434. To register please include your name, affiliation, the 
number attending, and e-mail address.  For directions and parking 
information, please see: http://www.nesl.edu/about/directions.cfm.