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恥辱： 一部性暴力的全球史
為什麼性暴力中需要感到羞恥的是受害者？
「羞恥不屬於受害者，而屬於允許傷害發生的意識形態、法律框架和權力結構」
◎「誠品、金石堂、城邦讀書花園、TAAZE讀冊」選書
◎勵馨基金會王玥好執行長專文推薦
◎全面剖析性暴力的多重面貌，正視無所不在的性暴力
◎挑戰性暴力的範圍，反思我們既有的用語和觀念
◎立基於現實，展望沒有性暴力的未來
全球女性中每五人就有一人遭到性暴力，即使在性別意識抬頭的國度裡，性暴力依舊難以消除。本書作者希望透過深入理解制度、意識形態、文化習俗如何促成性暴力，追求一個沒有性暴力的未來。書中案例分析跨越時代、階級、種族與地域，從盧安達大屠殺中帶有種族滅絕意圖的強暴、戰爭中的大規模性侵與「慰安婦」、演藝圈性醜聞到約會強暴等等，可以說是第一部真正的性暴力全球史。
●當性暴力作為一種恥辱
性暴力與其他暴力不同之處，在於性暴力被賦予一種羞恥感。羞恥感的重點不在於當事人做了什麼，而是其他人如何看待他。受害者相信自己失去「貞潔」，被指責行為「不檢點」，甚至是因果報應的結果。於是，責任就由加害者轉移到受害者身上。
怪罪受害者是「恥辱」賦予性暴力的特質之一。這讓受害者難以開口言說，因而讓性暴力就此埋藏在沉默之中。性暴力的羞恥性也往往與一些法條結合而更為加重，比如臺灣《刑法》226條規定強暴受害者如果羞忿自殺或意圖自殺既遂，強暴犯的處刑就會受到加重。如此一來，法律等於強化了這樣的觀點：女性一旦喪失「貞操」，就是遭受了足以驅使人自我了斷的沉重打擊。
●遭扭曲利用的性暴力
除了恥辱，性暴力也是一種受各種因素扭曲的暴力。有人會因為受害者與自己屬於不同的性別、種族、階級就認為對方遭受的傷害微不足道，或反之基於刻板印象，將黑人男性詆毀為強暴犯。也有人認為婚姻內不存在性暴力，比如在台灣就曾以「破壞家庭和諧」為由譴責「夫妻間有性自主權」的訴求。有人無法認可他人性向，而意圖用性暴力加以「矯正」。也有人會利用自己的權勢對別人施加性傷害並加以掩蓋。在族群衝突中，性暴力可以成為打擊對手的工具，甚至讓受害一方為了避免使族群蒙羞，放棄追求正義。本書作者分析了性暴力的各種面向，她認為應避免以「先進國家」的標準去理解所有社會中的性暴力，同時也要避免視某些種族或文化為落後之象徵，認定在那樣的社會中性暴力本是平常。
●打造一個沒有性暴力的世界
儘管從古至今的性暴力往往令人瞠目結舌，卻是可以被消除的。本書意圖證明，強暴是文化建構而成的行為。這種行為隨著時間與地點的不同而有極大的差異。這些差異提供了線索，讓我們可藉以打造出更和諧、更公正也更平等的世界。而第一步就是真正認識性暴力的本質。
「羞恥不屬於受害者，而屬於允許傷害發生的意識形態、法律框架和權力結構」
◎「誠品、金石堂、城邦讀書花園、TAAZE讀冊」選書
◎勵馨基金會王玥好執行長專文推薦
◎全面剖析性暴力的多重面貌，正視無所不在的性暴力
◎挑戰性暴力的範圍，反思我們既有的用語和觀念
◎立基於現實，展望沒有性暴力的未來
全球女性中每五人就有一人遭到性暴力，即使在性別意識抬頭的國度裡，性暴力依舊難以消除。本書作者希望透過深入理解制度、意識形態、文化習俗如何促成性暴力，追求一個沒有性暴力的未來。書中案例分析跨越時代、階級、種族與地域，從盧安達大屠殺中帶有種族滅絕意圖的強暴、戰爭中的大規模性侵與「慰安婦」、演藝圈性醜聞到約會強暴等等，可以說是第一部真正的性暴力全球史。
●當性暴力作為一種恥辱
性暴力與其他暴力不同之處，在於性暴力被賦予一種羞恥感。羞恥感的重點不在於當事人做了什麼，而是其他人如何看待他。受害者相信自己失去「貞潔」，被指責行為「不檢點」，甚至是因果報應的結果。於是，責任就由加害者轉移到受害者身上。
怪罪受害者是「恥辱」賦予性暴力的特質之一。這讓受害者難以開口言說，因而讓性暴力就此埋藏在沉默之中。性暴力的羞恥性也往往與一些法條結合而更為加重，比如臺灣《刑法》226條規定強暴受害者如果羞忿自殺或意圖自殺既遂，強暴犯的處刑就會受到加重。如此一來，法律等於強化了這樣的觀點：女性一旦喪失「貞操」，就是遭受了足以驅使人自我了斷的沉重打擊。
●遭扭曲利用的性暴力
除了恥辱，性暴力也是一種受各種因素扭曲的暴力。有人會因為受害者與自己屬於不同的性別、種族、階級就認為對方遭受的傷害微不足道，或反之基於刻板印象，將黑人男性詆毀為強暴犯。也有人認為婚姻內不存在性暴力，比如在台灣就曾以「破壞家庭和諧」為由譴責「夫妻間有性自主權」的訴求。有人無法認可他人性向，而意圖用性暴力加以「矯正」。也有人會利用自己的權勢對別人施加性傷害並加以掩蓋。在族群衝突中，性暴力可以成為打擊對手的工具，甚至讓受害一方為了避免使族群蒙羞，放棄追求正義。本書作者分析了性暴力的各種面向，她認為應避免以「先進國家」的標準去理解所有社會中的性暴力，同時也要避免視某些種族或文化為落後之象徵，認定在那樣的社會中性暴力本是平常。
●打造一個沒有性暴力的世界
儘管從古至今的性暴力往往令人瞠目結舌，卻是可以被消除的。本書意圖證明，強暴是文化建構而成的行為。這種行為隨著時間與地點的不同而有極大的差異。這些差異提供了線索，讓我們可藉以打造出更和諧、更公正也更平等的世界。而第一步就是真正認識性暴力的本質。
416 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 6, 2025
10 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Bourke
38 books67 followersJoanna Bourke (born 1963 in New Zealand) is an historian and professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London.
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January 1, 2026
Bourke is a leading academic historian of sexual violence, and this is another extremely valuable contribution from her. Unlike her influential earlier monograph "Rape: A History from 1860 to the Present," this book has a strong contemporary focus and a global perspective. The book rejects universalizing, transhistorical, and naturalizing perspectives on sexual violence, instead using an approach developed from radical feminist intersectionality to examine local particularities while also paying close attention to general, and even global, similarities.
Those familiar with her formidable bibliography on the subject will recognize many of the themes, topics, and preoccupations here, but I learned a lot of new things as well. The depth of research, case studies, and theoretical perspectives (including, I was glad to see, some deep queer theory) is truly impressive, though this also faces some of the common challenges of global history--how can you craft a project that is truly global? Is it really possible to write a genuinely global history on this difficult topic?
The book is clearly intended for non-academic readers, and I found it very accessible and would recommend it to any reader ready for such difficult material. It is of course a brutal read, but the text is far from hopeless. The book develops a theoretical approach for a broad leftist, feminist anti-rape solidarity and activism, ending with a chapter that imagines a rape-free world. Perhaps utopian--she writes that some of her friends even found her goals naive--but moving to read from someone who has studied this topic so deeply and must have many, many reasons to despair. More narrowly, I found the study inspiring for thinking about my own historical research and writing. This is the very last book I read in 2025; I actually finished it on Jan. 1, 2026. A bracing message and challenge to begin this year with. I think she gives us some truly valuable tools that can help us improve our future.
Those familiar with her formidable bibliography on the subject will recognize many of the themes, topics, and preoccupations here, but I learned a lot of new things as well. The depth of research, case studies, and theoretical perspectives (including, I was glad to see, some deep queer theory) is truly impressive, though this also faces some of the common challenges of global history--how can you craft a project that is truly global? Is it really possible to write a genuinely global history on this difficult topic?
The book is clearly intended for non-academic readers, and I found it very accessible and would recommend it to any reader ready for such difficult material. It is of course a brutal read, but the text is far from hopeless. The book develops a theoretical approach for a broad leftist, feminist anti-rape solidarity and activism, ending with a chapter that imagines a rape-free world. Perhaps utopian--she writes that some of her friends even found her goals naive--but moving to read from someone who has studied this topic so deeply and must have many, many reasons to despair. More narrowly, I found the study inspiring for thinking about my own historical research and writing. This is the very last book I read in 2025; I actually finished it on Jan. 1, 2026. A bracing message and challenge to begin this year with. I think she gives us some truly valuable tools that can help us improve our future.
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