TY - JOUR
T1 - Leaving the Past (Self) Behind
T2 - Non-Reporting Rape Survivors’ Narratives of Self and Action
AU - Huemmer, Jennifer
AU - McLaughlin, Bryan
AU - Blumell, Lindsey E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018.
PY - 2019/6/1
Y1 - 2019/6/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Agency
KW - identity
KW - narratives
KW - non-reporting of rape
KW - rape survivors
KW - symbolic interactionism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047400299&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0038038518773926
DO - 10.1177/0038038518773926
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85047400299
VL - 53
SP - 435
EP - 450
JO - Sociology
JF - Sociology
SN - 0038-0385
IS - 3
ER -