Social Reactions to Sexual Assault Disclosure: A Qualitative Study of Informal Support Dyads

• In Event: Reactions to Survivors and the Impact of Disclosure on Informal Support Providers from a Dyadic Interview Study

Abstract

Research on informal support dyads is lacking to understand the disclosure of sexual assaults and social reactions informal support providers make to survivors. Yet examining the disclosure and social reactions from the perspectives of both the survivor and support provider can provide a more complete picture of how survivors are responded to upon disclosure. This interview study of 45 informal support dyads examined how romantic partners, family, and friends differ in social reactions to sexual assault disclosure. Results show that social reactions differed based on relationship type, and that both survivors and support providers often interpret the quality of social reactions differently. We also discuss four additional themes found during the analysis: role reversal or “parentification” of support providers, reactions of anger and aggression toward the perpetrator, support providers using trauma experiences to respond to survivors, and reactions of betrayal.

Authors

• Katherine Lorenz, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Sarah E Ullman, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Anne Kirkner, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Rupashree Mandala, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Amanda Vasquez, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Rannveig Sigurvinsdottir, University of Illinois at Chicago