Conditional victimhood: examining social and legal attitudes toward sexual violence survivors in a progressive state context
Files
Full honors thesis
Date
2024-04
DOI
Authors
Belisle, Lilian
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
Since its rise in the 1970s, the anti-rape movement has been described as one of the most successful projects of second wave feminism. Reforms in criminal law, gains in funding for rape research and service providers, and the passage of the comprehensive Violence Against Women Act strengthened criminal due process protections for victims, improved the medical response to rape, and raised the public profile of sexual violence (Corrigan, 2013). However, in the wake of the #MeToo and #BelieveHer movements, the general public has been forced to reckon with the reality that there remains a profound cultural and legal bias against survivors of sexual assault. Through a comparative analysis of criminal cases arising from non-sexual assault- and sexual assault-related charges, my project examines the ways that rape myth narratives are mobilized by defense attorneys and how other legal actors attempt to derail them in a progressive state context. Incorporating evidence from a four month-long period of court observations (involving proceedings from 40 criminal cases) and 25 in-depth interviews with attorneys, judges, and police detectives, this study explores the pervasive concept of “real” or “legible” victimhood and why, despite significant legal reform, this rhetoric continues to prevail. I identify three distinct categories through which survivors of sexual violence are judged against societal expectations of a "legitimate" victim: (1) the victim’s display of non-consent, (2) the victim’s perceived culpability, and (3) the victim's response and presentation after the assault. I also articulate the barriers in legal infrastructure that stand in the way of attorney-level reforms. Ultimately, this research contributes valuable insights into the complex dynamics surrounding sexual violence cases, highlighting the need for a paradigm shift in societal attitudes and a disengagement with legal frameworks to ensure justice for survivors. With an increased awareness of these structural failures and a simultaneous recognition of the fact that incarceration is not a productive solution, I argue we must address the root causes of systemic sexual and gender-based violence and rechannel our resources toward its prevention (Greer, 2021).