Citation

Muldoon SD, Taylor SC, Norma C. Violence Against Women 2016; 22(5): 565-587.

Affiliation

RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801215608701

PMID

26721902

Abstract

This article is based on data drawn from 90 Victoria Police operational files covering the period 2004-2008. Several thematic responses by sexual assault survivors are described as forming a master narrative of "identity shock." It is argued that the "minor/serious" sexual assault legal distinction is meaningless to survivors and conceals a shared felt experience. It is also argued that sexual assault is fundamentally a "public issue" of betrayal of citizen trust-not just a collection of "private troubles"-and that effective resolutions require more than individualized therapeutic and criminal justice measures.

Language: en