Rape and beyond : women empowering women
| dc.contributor.author | Rathgen, Elizabeth | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-05-09T01:11:13Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-05-09T01:11:13Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1995 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The issue of rape was brought into the public arena by the women's movement in the 1960s. Radical feminists, in particular, explored the political nature of sexual relations of which rape is an outcome. The notion of women's inferiority and their exclusion from the public arena has been constituted by a patriarchal social order which supports the interests of men. Feminist poststructuralism examines the historical and social context of patriarchal discourses which perpetuate notions of male dominance and control. This study, Rape and Beyond: Women Empowering Women, explores rape from the perspective of women for whom rape constitutes an injury. This viewpoint is in contrast to that of the male perspective which categorises rape as a crime. Throughout the study, the tension between these two positions continues to be highlighted. Traditional stereotypes associated with rape, present conflicting images of women as both passive and vulnerable, and yet at the same time, ultimately culpable. Despite the fact that rape is perpetuated by men, women are often blamed and their innocence is thus disputed. The propensity for victim-blaming is reflected in the responses made to women who have been raped by social institutions, such as the legal system, medicine, religion, and the family. This approach exacerbates rather than ameliorates the injury rape inflicts on women. These issues are the focus of the empirical component of the study. Interviews conducted with six women who have had personal experiences of rape, and who are also involved in rape crisis service organisations, provide the data which are explored through the processes of both content and discourse analysis. TheĀ· analysis of the women's narratives draws on the French school of psychoanalysis which attends to the connection between language and the unconscious. The content of the women's narratives reveals several themes, including the losses the women have experienced as a result of rape, and the strategies they have devised to resolve their trauma. Analysis of the narratives articulated by the women, in accordance with feminist poststructuralism, reveals the underlying discourses, in particular those disseminated by patriarchy, that have affected the ability of the women both to understand the meaning of their experiences, and to reintegrate a sense of subjectivity in the aftermath of rape. The ability of the women to resist the domination of patriarchal discourses, and to employ various means to empower themselves and others is also highlighted. This, I argue, makes visible the strength of women as they continue to wage the battle against male sexual violence. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10092/107037 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.26021/15300 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://canterbury.libguides.com/rights/theses | |
| dc.subject | Rape victims--Psychology | |
| dc.subject | Rape--Psychological aspects | |
| dc.subject | Rape victims--Services for | |
| dc.subject | Sexual abuse victims--Services for | |
| dc.title | Rape and beyond : women empowering women | |
| dc.type | Theses / Dissertations | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Feminist studies | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Canterbury | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Arts | |
| uc.bibnumber | 560347 | |
| uc.college | Faculty of Arts |