Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department/Program
Forensic Psychology
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Elizabeth Jeglic
Second Reader
Philip Yanos
Third Advisor
Peggilee Wupperman
Abstract
Given the prevalence of sexual violence and child sexual abuse (CSA) it is imperative to accurately conceptualize victim experience following sexual violence. Rape myths do not provide an adequate understanding of victim behavior post-abuse/assault (e.g., Denne et al., 2013; Harsey & Freed, 2023; Romero-Sanchez et al., 2018; Russel & Hand, 2017), such as prescribing that victims of sexual violence would never hold contact with a perpetrator post-abuse/assault (e.g., Maurer, 2015; Shepp et al., 2019; St. George et al., 2022; Smith, 2023). Since research shows that many victims, particularly CSA victims, know the perpetrator, (e.g., Basile, 2020; Gewirtz-Meydan & Finkelhor, 2020; Turner et al., 2023), victims who experienced continued contact with the perpetrator post-abuse/assault are at particular risk of being dismissed. There is limited information specifically detailing how and why continued contact is experienced by the victims of sexual violence (e.g., Shepp et al., 2019). The current study employs a descriptive and exploratory design to record quantitative and qualitative data about the nature and extent of continued contact between victim and perpetrator, with victims being the primary sources of information. Results show that a significant number of participants experienced continued contact, and they reported a variety of characteristics, explanations, and reactions to continued contact. Continued contact with perpetrators post-assault is a relevant factor of victim experience, one that must be explored with intentionality to provide support to victims and accurate psychoeducation to juries and justice systems overseeing cases of sexual violence.
Recommended Citation
Bates, Maria, "An Investigation of Continued Contact Between Victim and Perpetrator After Sexual Violence" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/329