Victim Or Survivor: Do Labels Matter? A Poststructural Discourse Analysis of North American Undergraduate Students’ Beliefs on Sexual Violence Labels and their Societal Implications

Abstract

Sexual violence is a public health and human rights crisis that continues to be ignored by society. University students experience sexual violence at implacable rates, causing rape culture and rape myths to engulf university campuses. Few studies have explored the role of language and how labels may contribute to rape culture and rape myths. The purpose of this study was to explore university students’ beliefs on the labels “victim” and “survivor” and consider how these beliefs may reproduce discourses on sexual violence. A critical feminist poststructuralist framework was created and employed, allowing an in-depth exploration of beliefs on sexual violence labels. Identity, Resiliency, Self-exclusion, Blame, Control, and Severity were the central discourses on sexual violence labels. Findings are grounded in poststructuralism and identify avenues for change and recommendations for the field of health promotion and beyond that support the reduction of sexual violence on university campuses.