Making the personal political: understanding the impacts of participation in an anti-rape protest for women who have experienced sexual violence

Barker, Kim Elise

Title: Making the personal political: understanding the impacts of participation in an anti-rape protest for women who have experienced sexual violence
Creator: Barker, Kim Elise
Subject: Sexual assault South Africa
Subject: Silent protest
Subject: Under-reporting
Subject: Sexual abuse victims Attiudes
Subject: Narrative inquiry (Research method)
Subject: Rape Psychological aspects
Date Issued: 2023-03-29
Date: 2023-03-29
Type: Academic theses
Type: Doctoral theses
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/422590
Identifier: vital:71960
Identifier: DOI 10.21504/10962/422590
Description: South Africa is recognised as a country with unusually high levels of rape and sexual violence. The majority of those who experience sexual violence do not acknowledge, disclose or report it, and do not access support. Many factors have been identified which can inhibit acknowledgement and disclosure. While silence is to be honoured as a chosen response, unwanted silencing is of concern. The annual Silent Protest at Rhodes University is a day-long anti-rape protest which draws attention to the attitudes and practices which silence victim-survivors, and enacts solidarity with victim-survivors of sexual violence. I conducted a three year “critically engaged, activist ethnography” with the community of Silent Protestors and organisers. My focus was on the stories that victim-survivors told about the impacts of participating in the protest. Changes in the research context allowed for a participatory action research cycle to be incorporated into the methodology. This offered an opportunity to implement and evaluate some changes suggested by my research contributors. My contributor’s narratives highlighted the ways in which as a society we position those who have been subjected to sexual violence in ways that are limited and limiting and which diminish victim-survivors’ sense of agency and value. This malignant positioning restricts the choices available to victim-survivors. The anticipation of being positioned in negative ways can inhibit victim-survivors from disclosing a violation and accessing care and justice. Participation in the Silent Protest seems to stand against some of the factors which inhibit acknowledgement and disclosure. Through their participation many women took up opportunities to share their story with at least one other person and to receive and offer care. Most described participation as having been beneficial and having helped them move towards living well again. The ways in which the Silent Protest positioned victim-survivors and the choices they were offered in relation to that positioning seemed to open up opportunities for thinking, feeling and acting in ways that they preferred. This suggests that interventions which mobilise both political resistance and mutual care hold promise for developing more accessible and effective services to those affected by sexual violence.
Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
Format: computer
Format: online resource
Format: application/pdf
Format: 1 online resource (373 pages)
Format: pdf
Publisher: Rhodes University
Publisher: Faculty of Humanities, Psychology
Language: English
Rights: Barker, Kim Elise
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons "Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike" License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)

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Gender Action Forum (GENACT)

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SDG 05. Gender Equality

RU DST/NRF SARChI for Critical Studies in Sexualities and Reproductions Research (CSSR) Programme

SDG 03. Good Health and Well-Being

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