A snapshot of adult women’s experiences of secondary victimisation within their communities following sexual victimisation

Abstract

This article presents narratives of adult women sexual offence survivors who were subjected to secondary victimisation within their communities. Previous South African research on secondary victimisation focused primarily on the criminal justice system (CJS). The current qualitative study employed availability sampling, and the semi-structured interviews were analysed by means of thematic data analysis. Findings related to the participants’ experiences of societal secondary victimisation included the dismissal or denial of victims’ experiences, minimisation of the victimisation experience, apathy, disempowering reactions, stigmatisation, ostracism, and overt victim blaming. These experiences gave rise to adverse emotional effects, which were internalised and developed into negative internal narratives, which, in turn, manifested in various adverse behavioural outcomes, such as learned helplessness. Many survivors reported that they either ceased disclosing their victimisation or considered doing so, particularly those engaged in the pursuit of justice within the CJS. Measures that were proposed in the reduction of societal secondary victimisation include awareness and education.