Stories of Surviving: Restorative Strategies for Navigating Intimate Trauma

• In Event: Roundtable: Activism and Social Movements

Abstract

Decades of international criminological research has documented the persistently high prevalence of sexual violence, domestic violence, and intimate partner violence, and the perils of experiencing such harm. It is well established in scholarship that there are lifelong consequences for individuals who experience these forms of violence, which we refer to as intimate trauma, often exacerbated by inadequate and frequently revictimizing responses at the societal (e.g., rape culture), institutional (e.g., police, legal), and interpersonal (e.g., family, friends, peers) levels. Using case studies and current scholarship this paper investigates opportunities for healing, growth, and justice for survivors of intimate trauma from an anti-carceral, anti-capitalist, and intersectional feminist perspective.

Authors

• Bex Hayes, Central Michigan University

• Katherine Lorenz, California State University, Northridge