"Jeg er blevet voldtaget" - Et kritisk realistisk og feministisk perspektiv på mødet med omverdenen efter en voldtægt

Abstract

Rape often has long-term psychological and physical effects on the victim, and therefore it is crucial that victims of rape are able to rely on others, when they approach them in need of help. This represents the importance of the present paper because women who have been raped often do not feel safe and recognised when they disclose this. The treatment victims receive after they have been raped and tell others about it, may have even more detrimental effects on their being than the rape itself. Prior to this study, a scoping review was conducted to gain comprehensive knowledge on rape and women’s experiences with disclosure and to identify missing areas in research. The scoping review revealed a scientific gap in the amount of research trying to explain why women have these experiences when disclosing as well as in the lack of Danish research in this area. Thus, the purpose of the present paper became to understand how Danish women, who have been raped, experience disclosure, and additionally to investigate the generative mechanisms that can cause these experiences. In order to investigate this, the scientific theories of critical realism and feminist standpoint theory will inform the decisions made throughout this paper. To investigate the purpose of this paper, semi-structured interviews with four female victims of rape were conducted. The data was collected and transcribed, and subsequently, a thematic analysis was carried out. Several psychological theories were applied to the data in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the women’s experiences. The analysis revealed four themes of specific significance pertaining to the experiences of the participants’ disclosure; 1) Expectations for disclosure, 2) Circumstances of disclosure, 3) Being recognised, and 4) Understanding of self. These themes influence the experiences of the participants - whether these are perceived as positive or not. Based on the analysis we present multiple generative mechanisms in our society that can be said to make these experiences possible. These generative mechanisms include rape culture, the perception of consent, the perceived frequency of false accusations, and trust. These can be considered as fundamental for the participants’ experiences with disclosure. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of our methodological and methodical approach. In this respect, we considered our role as researchers as well as whether our results can be considered reliable and plausible explanations of the participants’ experiences. Based on our study we conclude that there is not one simple explanation to why the participants have these experiences with disclosure. One factor that might explain why negative experiences occur is the acceptance of rape myths that can be said to influence how society talks about and handles rape victims - including the presumption of innocence. Another factor is the lack of recognition and understanding from others, which causes a break of trust in the rape victims. Therefore, we found recognition and understanding to be essential to creating a positive disclosure experience for rape victims. Lastly, future directions are discussed, whereby we state the need for knowledge in society about rape, victims’ responses to rape, and the handling of rape victims by professionals.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

"Jeg er blevet voldtaget" - Et kritisk realistisk og feministisk perspektiv på mødet med omverdenen efter en voldtægt

["I was raped" - A critical realistic and feministic perspective on disclosure after a rape]