Framing Sympathy-worthiness: Sexual Assault Disclosure and Informal Confidants

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Abstract

This paper analyzes discursive frames used to construct sexual assault victims as worthy or unworthy of sympathy. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews with friends, family members, and partners who received disclosures of sexual violence, the present study explores how informal supporters evaluated victim’s narratives and behaviors in determining their emotional investments. Participants in the study used frames around relationship status, gendered ideals, disclosure timing, signs of trauma, and victim’s engagement with recovery work. Building on prior scholarship, this research argues for a more central role of sympathy in research concerned with the social construction of victims.

Author

• Wayne Rivera, Northwestern University