It’s On Us and Title IX  held a zoom session with “Anatomy of a Scandal” author Sarah Vaughan on Thursday April 24, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Miller Room.

Students who registered for the event had a chance to listen and talk to Vaughan about her novel and her other works. 

Title IX coordinator Elizabeth Leo hosted this event and disclosed that the It’s On Us book club featured “Anatomy of a Scandal” as one of their titles. “Anatomy of a Scandal” is a crime/courtroom thriller novel that features themes such as sexual assault, abuse of power dynamics and consent. 

“It’s easier to talk about these things using characters,” Leo said. “My hope is that by doing this it would be easier to address these topics in real life.”

Vaughan proceeded to read an excerpt from the novel, a courtroom cross-examination scene that she took inspiration from a real life cold case she shadowed in her work in journalism. 

Vaughan is mostly known for her fictional work but gathered her knowledge and experience of exploring themes such as sexual crimes in her work as a journalist where she covered crimes involving the sexual assault and abuse on women and young girls. 

“I covered these cases because I was seen as non-threatening,” Vaughan said. 

“In literature and life, the muddy cases and grey areas of consent is where most common cases happen,” she added.

“Anatomy of a Scandal” was released a few months after the Harvey Weinstein case and the beginning of the #MeToo movement. 

As a joke, Vaughan said, “I finally beat the zeitgeist for once.” 

Along with the novel, there is a Netflix show adaptation based on the novel with the same name. Copies of the book were offered as well as items provided by Elizabeth Leo, such as a webcam cover and an anti-spiking drink cover. Programming Board provided refreshments.