Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence

by Anita Hill

"An elegant, impassioned demand that America see gender-based violence as a cultural and structural problem that hurts everyone, not just victims and survivors... It's at times downright virtuosic in the threads it weaves together."--NPR

From the woman who gave the landmark testimony against Clarence Thomas as a sexual menace, a new manifesto about the origins and course of gender violence in our society; a combination of memoir, personal accounts, law, and social analysis, and a powerful call to arms from one of our most prominent and poised survivors.

In 1991, Anita Hill began something that's still unfinished work. The issues of gender violence, touching on sex, race, age, and power, are as urgent today as they were when she first testified. Believing is a story of America's three decades long reckoning with gender violence, one that offers insights into its roots, and paths to creating dialogue and substantive change. It is a call to action that offers guidance based on what this brave, committed fighter has learned from a lifetime of advocacy and her search for solutions to a problem that is still tearing America apart.

We once thought gender-based violence--from casual harassment to rape and murder--was an individual problem that affected a few; we now know it's cultural and endemic, and happens to our acquaintances, colleagues, friends and family members, and it can be physical, emotional and verbal. Women of color experience sexual harassment at higher rates than White women. Street harassment is ubiquitous and can escalate to violence. Transgender and nonbinary people are particularly vulnerable.

Anita Hill draws on her years as a teacher, legal scholar, and advocate, and on the experiences of the thousands of individuals who have told her their stories, to trace the pipeline of behavior that follows individuals from place to place: from home to school to work and back home. In measured, clear, blunt terms, she demonstrates the impact it has on every aspect of our lives, including our physical and mental wellbeing, housing stability, political participation, economy and community safety, and how our descriptive language undermines progress toward solutions. And she is uncompromising in her demands that our laws and our leaders must address the issue concretely and immediately.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Memoir, Politics, History, Social Justice, Audiobook

334 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

Anita Faye Hill, J.D. (Yale University, 1980; BS, Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 1977), is professor of social policy, law, and women's studies at Brandeis University and a faculty member of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis. She previously worked under Clarence Thomas at the Department of Education and the EEOC, after which she took on a professorship at the Evangelical Christian O. W. Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University. Her prior work with Thomas earned her a call to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the hearings regarding his 1991 nomination to the Supreme Court. Her testimony alleging sexual harassment by Thomas make her a figure of national interest and a target of conservatives despite her own conservative standing. Such pressure ultimately led Hill to resign her tenured professorship at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Reviews

[Roxane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beyond Anita Hill's work as an accomplished legal scholar, she has spent the past three decades relentlessly fighting to change our cultural attitudes toward gender-based violence. In her latest book, Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender-Based Violence, Hill offers a deeply researched, elegantly precise, fiercely intelligent examination of the intersections of gender, violence, identity, culture, and justice. Blending memoir, analysis, and trenchant advocacy, Hill has crafted a towering and necessary work that reminds us of the work we must all do to create a safer, more equitable world where we are all free from gender-based violence.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anita Hill was the first trailblazer who stood up against sexual harassment during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings in October 1991. Hill grew up in Oklahoma with twelve siblings. She was the first African American law professor at Oklahoma College of Law.

Hill realized that monumental change was required, and she committed her life to eliminating sexual harassment.

Some memorable passages include:
* Perpetuation of a gender hierarchy that values men over women

* Gender-based violence is the literal and figurative foot on women's necks

* Gender-based violence is in place to preserve leadership, hierarchies, and control

* Gender-based violence is a global phenomenon

* Gender violence will continue until we change the culture that supports it

* Misogyny, racism, and homophobia are at the heart of gender violence

* How do we make nonviolence the norm?

* We have a responsibility to the next generation

Recently I read, Know My Name, and One Way Back: A Memoir. It's tragic to realize that while some progress has been made, we still have a very, very long way to go.

[Tim Null · Rating 4 out of 5]

"... my journey has brought me to the point of believing unequivocally that victims are truthful; that their lives have value; that ending gender-based violence is the only way to achieve true equality,..." -- Anita Hill

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence
By Anita Hill
This is a book I couldn't read all at once or my blood pressure would go up! It angers me that not too much has changed in the last 30 years.
She writes very eloquently for such a harsh subject. She gave so many examples that will really stick with me, if I want them too or not! 😁
I didn't realize just how much there is to say about gender violence or how it effects daily life until reading this. I guess I did but really didn't sit and think it through. She is very passionate about the subject and briefly goes over her ordeal too.
I think Biden needs to expand the Supreme Court and ask Anita Hill and Obama. Hill because of the oral lynching she received from the committee Biden was part of in 1991. (Pretty similar to good ol boy Brett's selection committee.) Plus that would really mess with Thomas!😂 Obama because he is fair regardless of political side.
If the women's movement, metoo movement, or any sexual or gender violence interests you than this is your book.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hard read, because of how much things have not changed in 30 years. Thank goodness for for brave women who never give up, no matter how hard the patriarchy tries to squash them. I hope someday, these stories will just be a sad page in history instead of an ongoing daily reality.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently attended a library conference, and Anita Hill was announced as one of the speakers. The Clarence Thomas hearings seem so long ago, and I thought she must be elderly by now, but nope – she is only a few years older than me. She was 35 when she testified about the sexual harassment she dealt with from Thomas.

Hill was a powerful speaker at the conference, and I looked forward to reading her new book Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence. Although the book is certainly one of power and importance, I did not find it as effective as her speech.

The book comes across as a series of essays or speeches intended for different audiences on different occasions. It is at times unfocused and repetitive. (For example, I did not need to read more than once about the annual march through campus of Yale frat boys chanting “No means yes” or of the increased use of mandatory arbitration in employment contracts.) Occasionally assumptions are made that the reader is already familiar with something that is mentioned.

Hill is clearly an expert on the topic of gender violence and discrimination, and she uses a nice mix of statistics and anecdotes to make her case for change. She is a strong woman who put up with a lot of abuse over her testimony in 1991, although she also tells stories of people who supported her. Despite the wordiness and repetition, I still recommend Believing for people who want to know more about the topic.

From chapter 10: “[G]ender-based violence imperils our country’s health, safety, economic security, housing, transportation, and educational opportunities. It puts at risk our national security, as well as our social and political standing within this country and around the globe, and it reduces out ability to credibly advocate for human rights and gender equality.” (p. 232 of the advance reader copy)

I read an advance reader copy of Believing from Netgalley. It will be published in late September.

[Corvus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better review later but even though there's a lot of liberal law focus (because of course there is for a legal scholar) this book is really good and accessible on the topic just needs more solutions outside the law

[Moonkiszt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen to this woman. Hear what she says. Things need to change NOW, not later.

Pretending it isn't, acting as if it isn't, only passes it on to the next person about to be abused by whoever has a jot more power than they do. Every one of us has been in a place where we've seen, heard, (?done?), witnessed something full of unearned, borrowed or stolen dominance - it pricked us inside deep down, but we turned aside, away, left for some good (for us) reason. . .

Anita Hill's book is necessary, uncomfortable, important and her words will echo in the halls of history long after our hemming and hawing "yea, but"s do. . .

Everyone should read this book. Listening, hearing what she is saying, finding a way to open our eyes, ears and hearts to what is and has been happening in our societal interactions will help us change. And we soooo need to change.

Thank you, Anita Hill, for your words. I am truly sorry for all you and so many others have gone through. Your hope for change is a gift.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If we want meaningful change in gender-based violence, awareness of facts is critical. This book delivers lots of those facts, the most infuriating of which is that NOTHING has changed in the last 30 years since the author testified about her harassment experience. Well-written, well-researched, motivating.

[Tamyka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book! I have looked up to her since I was a little girl and to see she was everything I had romanticized was everything for me. She is incredibly smart and ingenious the way she formatted the book and simulataneously did a connecting and unwrapping expertly. Look sis aint new to this she true to this and this book is exactly what she said it was. This text reminds me of what the reflective learner produces after engaging in critical reflection, inquiry, and feedback. Highly recommend and buying it for my personal copy as it was a library book. Oh and shout out to the audio book narrator, January LaVoy, you did your thing sis! Perfect pitch, cadence, speed and passion/emotion. chefs kiss*

[Danielle W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was dry at the very beginning but informative and worthy. The saddest part was when she was lamenting the 2016 election and first Trump presidency, because I just wanted to be like, oh honey, just wait. It gets even worse. Sexual harassment and other gender violence can sometimes start to feel like cultural white noise but this did a good job reminding us how insidious and terrible it is. What Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford went through was a national disgrace. Let those unfortunate experiences continue to fuel our fires for change.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is powerful, and very informative, but it can be dry at times, though the memoir components and personal stories help to balance this out.

After watching the documentary about Anita Hill, I wanted to know more about her story, especially in the wake of the the farce that was the investigation into Christine Blasey-Ford's rape allegations of now-Supreme Court Judge Brett Cavanaugh. In this book Hill combines her personal experiences, as well as specific examples from both well-publicized and lesser-known stories, with history and law precedent (that fail to) address gender-based violence to provide an overview of where we are, where we have been, and where we must go to eliminate gender-based violence, which she convincingly characterizes as a public health and existential hazard to our society.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's impossible to rate this book on a traditional scale. Given the subject matter and the disturbing details, I can't say I enjoyed it. It did make me think, though I prefer to keep those thoughts to myself for now. I would call this book (and any others like it) significant and worthy of mass attention.

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly thorough, Hill covers gender violence from every possible angle and makes a compelling case for how it bleeds into every aspect of our society.

[Kevin Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to be honest: I wasn't expecting to learn anything really NEW from this book. I knew it would be an important read, but I thought I knew Anita Hill's story and I thought the book would simply reiterate basic notions such as how terrible gender violence is, that victim blaming contributes to the problem, etc. Indeed, the book does lay out such arguments. But it goes far beyond that. It was ignorant of me to assume I wouldn't learn anything new. In reality, Professor Hill presents an incredibly compelling detail of gender violence in our country - its history, and its complexity. There are nuanced arguments in this book about how intersectionality plays into gender violence, how the existence of gender violence is a threat to our very democracy, why we can't entrust a "woke generation" of millennials to solve the problem, and more. Professor Hill is very well-poised to tell such a story, not only because of her personal experience in publicly sharing her story of gender violence, but also as a law professor, an advocate for victims and survivors, and a remarkably astute academic.

[Zuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book on audiobook (not read by Anita Hill), it was pretty good. She is obviously a brilliant woman and this is a deeply important topic. I did feel like it was a bit repetitive or I guess just dealt with topics and examples that I was already pretty aware of and well-versed in. I actually don’t have much knowledge about the whole Clarence Thomas situation and all of the aftermath of that up until this day, so that was really interesting. I thought it was a good overview of gendered violence including everything from the Supreme Court hearings, workplace harassment, campus sexual assault, bullying of queer children, and so much more. Of course trigger warning for gendered violence!!

[Susan Lampe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirty years after the author faced a panel of white senators about why they should not confirm now Justice Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court in l991, due to sexual harassment, Anita Hill, today a Professor at Brandeis University and champion of women's rights, reviews the present situation of sexual harassment in this country. The cases she presents, the stories she offers, reveal shocking evidence that not much has changed for women in this country. Hill also reviews the recent Supreme Court appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and looks at the similar situation that happened when Christine Blasey Ford came forward to present evidence of his sexual harassment. Again, as in Hill's experience, gender-based sexual harassment was shoved aside. The book's provoking title reminds readers that Hill might have been left with little to believe in after the Thomas hearings. She was forced out of her job in Oklahoma, her home state and left to find work elsewhere. She demonstrates that she has never stopped fighting against gender-based harassment. I began underlining the book in the first chapter and never stopped. She calls out gender-based violence and harassment as an endemic public crisis and asks for immediate action.

[Liz Mc2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough, wide-ranging, impassioned, enraging, at times eloquent. Also sometimes repetitive and sounds like chunks of well-rehearsed speeches have been dropped in. I appreciated most the broad definition of “gender violence” in the book, from harassment and bullying to rape and intimate partner violence, and that misogynistic violence can target men and non-binary people as well as women. She discusses both the economic and equality costs of this violence. I probably wouldn’t have listened to this if I weren’t teaching a fiction course with the theme of gender and violence, but I’m not sorry I did.

[Abbie O'Hara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s ironic that this book often uses materialism theory (associated with Althusser and communism) to analyze SA - like how victims blaming and making abuse actually has very systemic implications, even economic - even though the tone is largely leftist democrat. There’s a lot of lauding of former Secretary of State Clinton, Vice President Harris, and even RBG, a woman who directly voted against laws that would protect Native American women from SA. This book has far too much politician worshiping for me - they’re all imperialists.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to finish this book (through no fault of Hill's - life just got in the way). It should be a must-read for everyone, no matter your gender or race or identity. As Hill so eloquently and succinctly puts it: Gender violence damages us all. Hill lays out the centuries-old problem of gender inequality and puts forth a treatise urging us to find our way through the thorny path to true equality. Her research is thorough and tinged with her personal story, though she turns her focus outward to the millions of victims from every gender and race. I cannot recommend this book enough.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hill on Gender Discrimination

This book is very impersonal. It written as a law professor might approach a subject with details and arguments. I appreciate the information but was very disappointed that Hill doesn’t choose to reveal more of herself and make her arguments more relatable. While she reveals individual cases, they aren’t humanized. I was disappointed by that.

[Danica is Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant. I read a lot and do a lot of work in this space so a lot was not new. But Hill’s thoughts and perspective is so needed and so informative.

The book is a bit cerebral but there are also a lot of stories. Very informative.

Warnings: at times she uses strong language from others. It also is a book about sexual violence, so I feel that trigger should be self-evident.

[Sherri (Harte Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2*

[Tofupup · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an essential, but uncomfortable read. If you are a survivor of gender violence, please take care of yourself while you read.

[Olivia Land · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book!

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not exactly a fun read, but it is an important one. I'm not sure that I really liked the memoir interspersed with scholarly work on gender-based violence, but it worked well enough that I finished the book.

[JuliannaM · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important overview of a generation's work to identify, respond to, and attempt to prevent gender-based violence, as told from an essential survivor's perspective.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a powerful book. Definitely a must read for anyone with an interest in ending gender-based violence (ie. everyone).

[Karissa Haugeberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concluding chapter, “Accountability,” is the most interesting. Much of the book summarizes recent research on GBV, which could be useful to a non-specialist.

[Lisa-Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely do I attempt a book with a topic so painful as this one was for me, but I tackled it because I wanted to read Anita Hill’s own view of her journey through sexual harassment in the latter part of the 20th century. She and I are in the same generation of women lawyers. I lived through her televised 1991 testimony in the Clarence Thomas Senate confirmation hearings in real time; I was a young lawyer myself then. I thought enough time had passed from my own scarring experiences with harassment during my 40-year professional legal career to read this book. I was wrong. I would read a few pages and need to take a break.

I hesitated to even write this review. But because a major purpose of my book reviews is to tell my grandchildren what I think of my books, I persisted.
Here’s the deal. Our society has not yet reckoned with women who are harmed by men in the workplace. When a woman is groped, intimidated, assaulted, insulted, demeaned, and denied opportunities by men committing sexual violence in her professional sphere, she is not believed. Anita was not believed when she testified in 1991 that Clarence Thomas harmed her; Christine Blasey Ford was not believed when she testified in 2018 that Brett Kavanaugh assaulted her. Both men are now serving on the United States Supreme Court. Paradoxically, federal and state laws prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace seem to have galvanized and empowered the men who continue to do it in 2026. Attacks on women have continued since those laws were passed. The backlash against women asserting their rights is real and overwhelming. And separately horrifying. I am hopeful that younger generations who have grown up around women professionals will be different.

I won’t belabor my own experience here, but I was the victim of both harassment and assault repeatedly in both private companies and government service, at various ages and stages of my life, by men who were never held accountable. Most of that time I was in executive positions with considerable responsibility. It didn’t matter. The one time I did file a complaint I was retaliated against and punished immediately. One of the most painful parts was the part where no one believes you. The people around you go to great lengths to excuse the men, blame you, shame you, make excuses, provide what they think is “context”, minimize it, and tell you to get over it. Hill was told repeatedly that what she experienced was “not that bad.” She writes, “the message that your hurt is of no consequence, so back off, remains the same.”

Not being believed about something as important as damage to a woman’s own body is a special version of hell. In my experience it was as damaging as the assault itself. Being told you are exaggerating, lying, misunderstanding, or too sensitive occurs at every workplace, over and over, and it takes a sizable toll on one’s concentration, self-confidence, and peace of mind. In 2026, it is even more devastating to me to read Hill’s well-documented state of things because it means that women did get the courage to come forward and were attacked again for that.

I encourage people to read this book. I learned many things. (Thanks, Katrina!) For personal reasons, I can’t detail all of those aspects in my book review, but it is well-researched and she does articulate a positive path forward for our society. Her courage is enormous. “We who believe in freedom and equality and justice cannot rest until they come…leaders in politics, business, education, and culture must also believe that a world free from gender violence is worth pursuing.” Now more than ever.