RESUMEN
Background: Universities' responses to sexual violence have faced scrutiny for their lack of proactiveness and their failure to address campus socio-cultural norms that contribute to rape myth acceptance. The labels victim and survivor play a crucial role in shaping attitudes toward sexual violence, but there is limited research on how university students perceive these labels.Objective: This paper explores sexual violence labels and their role in perpetuating rape culture. Undergraduate university students' beliefs on using the label survivor instead of victim to describe someone who has experienced sexual violence were examined to consider how these labels create societal discourse on sexual violence.Method: The study draws on qualitative data collected from undergraduate students in Canada and the United States through open-response questions in an interactive textbook. Data were analysed and interpreted using a multi-method approach that combined principles of Critical Discourse Analysis and Feminist Poststructuralism. Direct quotes and word clouds from participants' responses are used as evidence and to visually display discourse.Results: Findings revealed that participants recognised the negative societal discourses associated with the label victim and supported using survivor to challenge perceptions of sexual violence. Despite this, participants expressed hesitancy to adopt the label survivor because of the potential negative implications, such as the label promoting the allocation of individual blame, increasing barriers to justice, and reducing the perceived severity of sexual violence.Conclusions: This study underscores the complexities of sexual violence labels, the influence of language in shaping societal perceptions, and the need for a more comprehensive and equitable approach to responding to sexual violence.
Dichotomy of Labels and Nuanced Perceptions: Sexual violence labels shape identity perceptions. Participants dichotomised the labels victim and survivor, associating one with negative attributes and the other with positive attributes. However, nuanced views of how people perceive and identify with these labels challenge distinct categories. Victims being negatively perceived, while survivors are admired for their resiliency highlights complexities in societal expectations that may not fully address the underlying determinants of sexual violence.Role of Language in Reproduction of Rape Culture: Poststructuralist theories emphasise the role of language in the production and maintenance of discourse. The study shows that victim discourse is steeped in rape myths. The historical discourse surrounding the label may contribute to the perpetuation of negative attitudes and behaviours toward victims of sexual violence. The emergence of the label survivor reflects a societal shift, but findings suggest this may lead to societal complacency towards sexual violence.Spectrum of Severity and Societal Empathy: Participants' understanding of sexual violence as a spectrum of severity may lead to unequal levels of empathy and support. This discourse creates positions of dominance and oppression, potentially marginalising certain groups who are disproportionately affected by sexual violence. The study highlights how severity discourse can influence institutional agendas and may result in political and institutional neglect of sexual violence.
Asunto(s)
Delitos Sexuales , Estudiantes , Humanos , Canadá , Sobrevivientes , UniversidadesRESUMEN
La violencia sexual, incluyendo las agresiones sexuales facilitadas pordrogas, es un serio problema cada vez más común en los contextos de ocionocturno. Este trabajo estudia las actitudes y percepciones de la juventudespañola en torno a la violencia sexual en dicho ámbito. Los participantesse reclutaron mediante muestreo en bola de nieve. Se realizó un análisisbivariado para identificar posibles factores sociodemográficos y de ocionocturno relacionados con género. La significación estadística de lasdiferencias entre estas variables se evaluó mediante las pruebas de chicuadrado y exacta de Fisher. Las mujeres percibieron un menor nivelde seguridad personal, así como la existencia de percepciones socialesque penalizan en mayor medida el consumo de drogas femenino que elmasculino, y que culpabilizan a las mujeres por la violencia que sufren.Además, ellos mostraron mayor disposición a mantener relaciones sexualescon personas incapaces de otorgar su consentimiento debido a los efectosde las drogas. Los hombres creen en mayor medida que las agresionessexuales ocurren debido al uso de alcohol u otras drogas por parte delas víctimas. En el contexto de ocio nocturno, las mujeres son propensasa percibir la existencia de una falta de apoyo social hacia ellas, así comoun sentimiento de impunidad social hacia los agresores. Además, existennumerosas concepciones erróneas en torno a las agresiones sexualesfacilitadas por drogas. La mayoría cree que las agresiones ocurren trasla administración encubierta de sustancias a la víctima por parte de unagresor desconocido. Además, se subestimó la participación del alcohol.Nuestros hallazgos son útiles para diseñar esfuerzos preventivos biendirigidos, desmitificar el fenómeno de las agresiones sexuales facilitadaspor drogas y mejorar el apoyo social a las víctimas. (AU)
Sexual violence, including drug-facilitated sexual assaults, is a seriousissue that is becoming increasingly common in leisure nightlife contexts.This study provides information about the attitudes and perceptionsof Spanish youths towards sexual violence within that setting. Theparticipants were recruited by a snowball sampling scheme. A bivariateanalysis was performed to identify possible sociodemographic andnightlife recreational habit factors related to gender. The statisticalsignificance of the differences between the studied variables was assessedusing the chi-squared and Fishers exact tests. Women perceived a lowlevel of personal security, as well as the existence of social perceptionspenalizing female more than male drug use, and blaming women for thesexual violence they suffer. Women also recognised less explicit violentbehaviours as violence significantly more than men did. Men were morewilling to have sexual intercourse with someone unable to expressconsent because of drugs. In addition, they believed more strongly thatsexual assaults take place because of the victims use of alcohol or otherdrugs. In a leisure nightlife context, women are prone to perceive alack of social support for themselves and the feeling of impunity for theperpetrators. Furthermore, numerous misconceptions surround drugfacilitated sexual assaults, with the majority of respondents believingthat assaults happen after the surreptitious administration of substancesto the victim by an unknown assailant. Moreover, the involvement ofalcohol was underestimated. Our findings are useful for designingprevention efforts, demystifying the drug-facilitated sexual assaults andenhancing social support for victims. (AU)