Citation

Thapar-Björkert S, Morgan KJ. Violence Against Women 2010; 16(1): 32-59.

Affiliation

University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. s.thapar-bjorkert@bristol.ac.uk.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801209354374

PMID

19949228

Abstract

This article draws on narratives of volunteers working with women who have experienced violence. It explores how institutional discourses nurture a culture of blame and responsibility. Using qualitative data, it examines the ways in which women victims are seen as complicit in their own victimization. An indirect consequence of the blame/responsibility dichotomy is that victims are depicted as deserving their fate. There is, therefore, a culture of resignation in which violence is normalized. It proposes that if institutional practices are embedded in a feminist tradition, they can provide a more sustainable framework for challenging sexual and domestic violence.

Language: en