Protection Or Illusion? Examining Sex Victims’ Legal Consciousness of Police Engagement Through Legal Estrangement

• In Event: Police-Victim Relations and Reporting

Abstract

Exploring the legal consciousness of sex victims in China through empirical research is an important area that deserves further investigation. This is particularly timely as legislation against sexual harassment is being introduced, and victim’s well-being is gaining more attention. Through the legal estrangement framework, this article explores the changes in victims’ legal consciousness as a result of their interactions with law enforcement agencies, specifically the police. By employed purposive smpling for selected in-depth interviewees, this study is finally based on 15 in-depth interviews with victims of sexual harassment in China, which found that their attitudes and perspectives underwent a significant shift before and after reporting their experiences to the police. The findgs showed that, initially, most of the victims believed that the police would provide them with the expected relief and justice. However, their interactions with the police shattered this belief. This transformation of victim’s legal consciousness is occurred winthin the interrelated dimensions of legal estrangement framework: accessibility, legitimacy, trust, and empowerment. The study also highlights how these interactions with the police force shape the victims’ identity and contribute to broader social inequality. Finally, the study offers implications for policy.

Author

• Jingwei Liu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong