Leaving the Past (Self) Behind

Non-Reporting Rape Survivors' Narratives of Self and Action

Bibliographic Data

ID2323013
AuthorsJennifer Huemmer (Ithaca College, corresponding author), B Mclaughlin (0000-0002-3710-1521, Texas Tech University), Lindsey E Blumell (City, University of London), Lindsey Blumell (0000-0003-4608-9269, City, University of London)
Year2019
Volume53
Issue3
Pages435-450
Publication date2019-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0385 • E-ISSN: 1469-8684
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0038038518773926
OpenAlexW2804770209
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited33

Using a symbolic interactionist framework, this study considers the narratives of non-reporting rape survivors. We use interviews to examine the complex processes that inform a survivor's decision not to report. Rape is not interpreted as an isolated event; it is something that is seen as caused by, connected to, and affecting the survivor's sense of self and agency. Rape forces the survivor to reconstruct a sense of agency in the aftermath of the traumatic attack. Rather than report the rape, the survivors constructed narratives that direct blame and accountability toward the 'old self'. This less visible, yet still agentic strategy, allows the survivors to regain a sense of agency and control. As a result, a more positive, optimistic self can be constructed, while pursuing legal justice would force them to reenact an 'old' self that cannot be disentangled from the rape

Accountability · Action (physics) · Agency (philosophy) · Blame · Criminology · Economic Justice · Literature · Narrative · Political science · Psychology of self · Self · Sense of agency · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Psychology · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology