The Double-Edged Sword of Trauma Talk
Frozen Fright, Paradoxical Resilience, and the Legal Negotiation of Credibility in Rape Cases
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24229287 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stina Lindegren (0000-0002-5875-4521, Uppsala University), Maritha Jacobsson (0009-0001-4610-0950, Uppsala University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 10778012261497242-10778012261497242 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Violence Against Women (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1077-8012 • E-ISSN: 1552-8448 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/10778012261497242 |
| PMID | 42864937 |
| OpenAlex | W7221649483 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 51 |
Trauma is central to understanding victims’ responses to sexual assault in legal contexts, but its role in credibility assessments remains contested. This study examines how trauma discourse is expressed, negotiated, and interpreted in rape trials. It is based on a qualitative reflexive thematic analysis of 10 rape cases in Sweden, including recorded courtroom interrogations (i.e., complainants’ testimony and cross-examinations) and follow-up interviews with complainants. The results show that references to frozen fright can support credibility by explaining passivity but are often contested as exaggerated or inconsistent. Its limitations in complex cases motivate the concept of paradoxical resilience , capturing seemingly contradictory yet rational survival strategies. This concept may contribute to more nuanced interpretations in legal proceedings.
credibility assessment · Cross-examination · Passivity · rape trials · Sexual assault · sexual assault survivors · trauma discourse · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Legal processes and jurisprudence · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
Representing Rape
Sexual assault cases in the legal system
What Really Happened? A Validation Study of Rape Survivors' Help-Seeking Experiences With the Legal and Medical Systems
The Linkage Between Secondary Victimization by Law Enforcement and Rape Case Outcomes
The Relationship Between Rape Myths, Revictimization by Law Enforcement, and Well-Being for Victims of Sexual Assault
Preventing the “Second Rape”
Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis
The Impact of Rape Myth Education on Jury Decision-Making
PTSD in the Year Following Sexual Assault
The rape victim
The Empire of Trauma
Modern Rape Myths
Experience of guilt in court hearings—Comparing rape, assault and fraud cases
Responses to youth intimate partner violence
Embodied truths and authentic selves
Trauma of Rape” Discourse
Extreme Case Formulations
Common Sense, (Ab)normality and Bodies in Norwegian Rape Verdicts
Vulnerability, Agency and the Ambivalence of Place in Narratives of Rape in Three High-Profile Swedish Cases
Justice without bias
The Emergence of the Crime Victim
Extreme case formulations
Masking Hegemonic Masculinity
The social ecology of resilience
Turning Mirrors Into Windows
Naming and Defining ‘Domestic Violence
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Rape myths, jury deliberations, and conversation analysis
Resilience, Trauma, Context, and Culture
Does the Wide Reach of the "Trauma-informed" Model Exceed its Narrow Grasp
| Highly cited | No |
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