Abstract
Introduction
How sexual assault victims conceptualize their experiences are shaped, in part, by adherence to rape myths and victim blaming. Victim blaming is predicated on the idea that victims should have done something differently to prevent sexual assault from happening. To better understand victims’ experiences, we documented victim reactions during sexual assault and how victims label and judge the severity of their experience.
Methods
We inductively coded 906 US women’s open-ended descriptions of sexual assault from a 2016 cross-sectional online survey. Participants were diverse sexual orientations, incomes, and ages but were not racially diverse (78% white).
Results
We identified three main themes: Labeling, Judging Severity, and Victim Reactions. Labeling refers to how victims describe their experience—as sexual assault or some other descriptor. Judging Severity captures victims’ perceptions of the experience, for example as severe or relative other experiences. Victim Reactions refers to how victims responded during the assault.
Conclusions
Normalizing variation in victims’ reactions is important especially given that some state statutes define sexual assault in terms of what a “reasonable person” would recognize as a refusal cue. We find that some victims’ perceptions of their experience change over time. When judging severity, women mentioned two ends of a continuum (i.e., worst experience of my life vs. not a big deal); both are valid. But, participants’ perceptions that sexual assault is a “normal experience” is concerning.
Policy Implications
Our findings could inform sexual violence prevention programs, norming campaigns, statute of limitations policies, and criminal justice services.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of Data and Material
Survey measures can be found on p. 235 of the following dissertation: Canan, S. N. (2017). A mixed-methods study of sexual assault in lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the U.S. Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2464
Code Availability
Not applicable.
Notes
Whether to use the term “victim” or “survivor” is a debated topic within the sexual violence field. In this paper, we follow the guidance of the Rape and Incest National Network (RAINN, 2022), which describes the use of “survivor” predominantly when discussing someone “who has gone through the recovery process” (para. 3) and “victim” predominantly when discussing someone “who has recently been affected by sexual violence” (para. 2). Because we did not measure participants’ recovery process, we are not able to accurately call our participants survivors.
There has been much discussion and debate about sexual assault resistance strategies as they relate to educational prevention programming. For a review, see Orchowski et al., (2020a, b). However, it is not within the scope of the current study to engage with the debate on the effectiveness of such educational programming.
Participants who described their experience as Not Sexual Assault in the open-ended question were retained in the study because they had answered affirmatively in the close-ended SES-SFV, which measures sexual assault prevalence.
References
Alexander, K. W., Quas, J. A., Goodman, G. S., Ghetti, S., Edelstein, R. S., Redlich, A. D., Cordon, I. M., & Jones, D. P. H. (2005). Traumatic impact predicts long-term memory for documented child sexual abuse. Psychological Science, 16(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00777.x
Amherst MA Police Department. (2021). Common reactions to a sexual assault. Retrieved February 4, 2021, from https://www.amherstma.gov/1000/Common-Reactions-to-a-Sexual-Assault
Balemba, S., Beauregard, E., & Mieczkowski, T. (2012). To resist or not to resist? The effect of context and crime characteristics on sex offenders’ reaction to victim resistance. Crime & Delinquency, 58(4), 588–611. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128712437914
Basile, K. C. (2015). A comprehensive approach to sexual violence prevention. The New England Journal of Medicine, 372(24), 2350–2352. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe1503952
Basile, K. C., Smith, S. G., Kresnow, M., & Leemis, R. W. (2022). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Sexual Violence (p. 44). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/nisvsReportonSexualViolence.pdf
Beichner, D., & Spohn, C. (2012). Modeling the effects of victim behavior and moral character on prosecutors’ charging decisions in sexual assault cases. Violence and Victims, 27(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.27.1.3
Blayney, J. A., Hequembourg, A., & Livingston, J. A. (2021). Rape acknowledgment and sexual minority women’s mental health and drinking behaviors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(7–8), NP3786–NP3802. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518781800
Bondurant, B. (2001). University women’s acknowledgment of rape: Individual, situational, and social factors. Violence against Women, 7(3), 294–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801201007003004
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Successful Qualitative Research.
Burt, M. R. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(2), 217–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.38.2.217
Campbell, B. A., Menaker, T. A., & King, W. R. (2015). The determination of victim credibility by adult and juvenile sexual assault investigators. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.12.001
Campbell, R. (2012). The neurobiology of sexual assault: Implications for law enforcement, prosecution, and victim advocacy. National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/media/video/24056
Campbell, R., & Wasco, S. M. (2016). Understanding rape and sexual assault: 20 years of progress and future directions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260504268604
Canan, S. N. (2017). A mixed-methods study of sexual assault in lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the U.S. Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2464
Canan, S. N., Jozkowski, K. N., Wiersma-Mosley, J., Blunt-Vinti, H., & Bradley, M. (2020). Validation of the sexual experience survey-short form revised using lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women’s narratives of sexual violence. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(3), 1067–1083. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01543-7
Canan, S. N., Jozkowski, K. N., Wiersma-Mosley, J. D., Bradley, M., & Blunt-Vinti, H. (2019). Differences in lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women’s experiences of sexual assault and rape in a national U.S. sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519863725
Cantor, D., Fisher, B., Chibnall, S. H., Bruce, C., Townsend, R., Thomas, G., & Hyunshik, L. (2015). Report on the AAU campus climate survey on sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Association of American Universities. https://ias.virginia.edu/sites/ias.virginia.edu/files/University%20of%20Virginia_2015_climate_final_report.pdf
Davies, M., Gilston, J., & Rogers, P. (2012). Examining the relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, victim blame, homophobia, gender roles, and ambivalent sexism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(14), 2807–2823.
Department of Justice. (2019). Sexual Assault. https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault
Dörfel, D., & RabeKarl, A., S. (2008). Co** strategies in daily life as protective and risk factors for post traumatic stress in motor vehicle accident survivors. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 13(5), 422–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325020701742136
Dunmore, E., Clark, D. M., & Ehlers, A. (2001). A prospective investigation of the role of cognitive factors in persistent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after physical or sexual assault. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39(9), 1063–1084. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(00)00088-7
Edwards, K. M., Probst, D. R., Tansill, E. C., Dixon, K. J., Bennett, S., & Gidycz, C. A. (2014). In their own words: A content-analytic study of college women’s resistance to sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29(14), 2527–2547. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260513520470
Filipas, H. H., & Ullman, S. E. (2001). Social reactions to sexual assault victims from various support sources. Violence and Victims, 16(6), 673–692.
Fisher, B. S., Daigle, L. E., Cullen, F. T., & Turner, M. G. (2003). Acknowledging sexual victimization as rape: Results from a national-level study. Justice Quarterly, 20(3), 535–574.
Guttmacher Institute. (2021). Sex and HIV Education: State Laws and Policies. https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/sex-and-hiv-education
Hallgren, K. A. (2012). Computing inter-rater reliability for observational data: An overview and tutorial. Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 8(1), 23–34.
Hayes, R. M., Lorenz, K., & Bell, K. A. (2013). Victim blaming others: Rape myth acceptance and the just world belief. Feminist Criminology, 8(3), 202–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085113484788
Hickman, S. E., & Muehlenhard, C. L. (1999). “By the semi-mystical appearance of a condom”: How young women and men communicate sexual consent in heterosexual situations. Journal of Sex Research, 36(3), 258–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499909551996
Hollander, J. A. (2018). Women’s self‐defense and sexual assault resistance: The state of the field. Sociology Compass, 12(8). https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12597
Janoff-Bulman, R. (1979). Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(10), 1798–1809. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.37.10.1798
Jordan, J. (2004). Beyond belief? Police, rape and women’s credibility. Criminal Justice, 4(1), 29–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466802504042222
Jozkowski, K. N., Marcantonio, T. L., & Hunt, M. E. (2017). College students’ sexual consent communication and perceptions of sexual double standards: A qualitative investigation. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 49(4), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1363/psrh.12041
Jozkowski, K. N., Marcantonio, T. L., Rhoads, K. E., Canan, S., Hunt, M. E., & Willis, M. (2019). A content analysis of sexual consent and refusal communication in mainstream films. The Journal of Sex Research, 56(6), 754–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.1595503
Jozkowski, K. N., & Peterson, Z. D. (2013). College students and sexual consent: Unique insights. Journal of Sex Research, 50(6), 517–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2012.700739
Kahn, A. S., Jackson, J., Kully, C., Badger, K., & Halvorsen, J. (2003). Calling it rape: Differences in experiences of women who do or do not label their sexual assault as rape. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27(3), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.00103
Kahn, A. S., Mathie, V. A., & Torgler, C. (1994). Rape scripts and rape acknowledgment. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18(1), 53–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb00296.x
Koelsch, L. E., Brown, A. L., & Boisen, L. (2012). Bystander perceptions: Implications for university sexual assault prevention programs. Violence and Victims, 27(4), 563–579. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.27.4.563
Koss, M. P., Abbey, A., Campbell, R., Cook, S., Testa, M., Ullman, S., West, C., & White, J. (2007). Revising the SES: A collaborative process to improve assessment of sexual aggression and victimization. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31(4), 357–370. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00385.x
Koss, M. P., Dinero, T. E., Seibel, C. A., & Cox, S. L. (1988). Stranger and acquaintance rape. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 12(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1988.tb00924.x
Koss, M. P., & Gidycz, C. A. (1985). Sexual Experiences Survey: Reliability and validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53(3), 422–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.53.3.422
Lavie-Ajayi, M. (2016). ‘It will continue to embarrass me on some level, and i think that’s OK’: Conceptualising embarrassment in discussions about sex between social workers and service users. The British Journal of Social Work, 46(8), 2282–2299. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcw116
Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1994). Rape myths. In Review. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18(2), 133–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb00448.x
McElvaney, R. (2015). Disclosure of child sexual abuse: Delays, non-disclosure and partial disclosure. What the Research Tells Us and Implications for Practice. Child Abuse Review, 24(3), 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2280
McHugh, M. L. (2012). Interrater reliability: The kappa statistic. Biochemia Medica, 22(3), 276–282.
McMahon, S., & Farmer, G. L. (2011). An updated measure for assessing subtle rape myths. Social Work Research, 35(2), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/35.2.71
Möller, A., Söndergaard, H. P., & Helström, L. (2017). Tonic immobility during sexual assault – a common reaction predicting post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression. Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 96(8), 932–938. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.13174
Monroe, L. M., Kinney, L. M., Weist, M. D., Dafeamekpor, D. S., Dantzler, J., & Reynolds, M. W. (2005). The experience of sexual assault: Findings from a statewide victim needs assessment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(7), 767–776. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260505277100
Muehlenhard, C. L., Humphreys, T. P., Jozkowski, K. N., & Peterson, Z. D. (2016). The complexities of sexual consent among college students: A conceptual and empirical review. The Journal of Sex Research, 53(4–5), 457–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1146651
Muehlenhard, C. L., Peterson, Z. D., Humphreys, T. P., & Jozkowski, K. N. (2017). Evaluating the one-in-five statistic: Women’s risk of sexual assault while in college. The Journal of Sex Research, 54(4–5), 549–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2017.1295014
Newins, A. R., Wilson, L. C., & White, S. W. (2018). Rape myth acceptance and rape acknowledgment: The mediating role of sexual refusal assertiveness. Psychiatry Research, 263, 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.02.029
Norris, J. (2011). “Fresh” Thoughts on Studying Sexual Assault. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(2), 369–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684311404137
North Carolina General Assembly. (2018). Criminal Law § Chapter 14-27.20 Article 7B. https://www.ncleg.gov/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_14.html
O’Neal, E. N., & Kaiser, K. A. (2015). Resistance strategies and sexual assault outcomes: Do measurement decisions influence empirical findings?. Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, 16(2), 56–73.
Orchowski, L. M., Edwards, K. M., Hollander, J. A., Banyard, V. L., Senn, C. Y., & Gidycz, C. A. (2020a). Integrating sexual assault resistance, bystander, and men’s social norms strategies to prevent sexual violence on college campuses: A call to action. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 21(4), 811–827. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018789153
Orchowski, L. M., Oesterle, D. W., Moreno, O., Yusufov, M., Berkowitz, A., Abbey, A., Barnett, N. P., Borsari, B. (2020b). A qualitative analysis of sexual consent among heavy-drinking college men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(7-8), NP5566–NP5593. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520958658
Parker, A., Wilding, E., & Akerman, C. (1998). The von restorff effect in visual object recognition memory in humans and monkeys: The role of frontal/perirhinal interaction. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 10(6), 691–703. https://doi.org/10.1162/089892998563103
Payne, D. L., Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1999). Rape myth acceptance: Exploration of its structure and its measurement using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. Journal of Research in Personality, 33(1), 27–68. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1998.2238
Peterson, Z. D., & Muehlenhard, C. L. (2004). Was it rape? The function of women’s rape myth acceptance and definitions of sex in labeling their own experiences. Sex Roles, 51(3), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000037758.95376.00
Peterson, Z., Voller, E. K., Polusny, M. A., & Murdoch, M. (2011). Prevalence and consequences of adult sexual assault of men: Review of empirical findings and state of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.08.006
RAINN. (2021). Sexual Assault. https://www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-assault
RAINN. (2022). Key Terms and Phrases | RAINN. https://www.rainn.org/articles/key-terms-and-phrases
Saint John’s University. (2021). Sexual Assault Survivor’s Guide. College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University. Retrieved February 4, 2021, from https://www.csbsju.edu/chp/sexual-assault-survivors-guide
Shaw, J., Campbell, R., Cain, D., & Feeney, H. (2017). Beyond surveys and scales: How rape myths manifest in sexual assault police records. Psychology of Violence, 7(4), 602–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000072
Starzynski, L. L., Ullman, S. E., Filipas, H. H., & Townsend, S. M. (2005). Correlates of women’s sexual assault disclosure to informal and formal support sources. Violence and Victims, 20(4), 417–432. https://doi.org/10.1891/088667005780927593
Strang, E., & Peterson, Z. D. (2020). Use of a bogus pipeline to detect men’s underreporting of sexually aggressive behavior. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(1–2), 208–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516681157
Ullman, S. E. (2007). A 10-year update of “Review and Critique of Empirical Studies of Rape Avoidance”. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(3), 411–429. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854806297117
Ullman, S. E., Townsend, S. M., Filipas, H. H., & Starzynski, L. L. (2007). Structural models of the relations of assault severity, social support, avoidance co**, self-blame, and PTSD among sexual assault survivors. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31(1), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00328.x
Van der Kolk, B. A. (2015). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.
Villanova University. (2021). Sexual violence. https://www1.villanova.edu/university/student-life/health-services/health-wellness-resources/sexual-assault.html
Wells, C., Morrison, C. M., & Conway, M. A. (2014). Adult recollections of childhood memories: What details can be recalled?. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 67(7), 1249–1261. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2013.856451
Willis, M., Jozkowski, K. N., & Read, J. (2019). Sexual consent in K–12 sex education: An analysis of current health education standards in the United States. Sex Education, 19(2), 226–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2018.1510769
Wilson, L. C., & Miller, K. E. (2016). Meta-analysis of the prevalence of unacknowledged rape. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 17(2), 149–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838015576391
Wilson, L. C., & Newins, A. R. (2019). Rape acknowledgment and sexual minority identity: The indirect effect of rape myth acceptance. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 6(1), 113–119. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000304
Funding
This work was supported by the American Psychological Foundation’s 2016 Roy Scrivner Memorial Research Grant.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics Approval
This study was performed in line with the approval of the Institutional Review Board at the University of Arkansas, where the data was collected (IRB# 16–01-477).
Consent to Participate
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Canan, S.N., Kaplan, A.M. & Jozkowski, K.N. A National US Study of 906 Women’s Qualitative Accounts of Their Reactions During Sexual Assault. Sex Res Soc Policy 20, 977–992 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-022-00772-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-022-00772-1