When Sexual Assault is Political: Variations in Reactions and Political Behavior Among Women Sexual Assault Survivors

Abstract

Sexual violence against women occurs among all social cleavages in American society, affecting women of every race, socioeconomic status, sexuality, and age group. While we know that surviving sexual violence affects the daily lives of survivors and has consequences that affect political life, such as depression and PTSD, we do not know if sexually violent events themselves become politicized by directly affecting the political behavior of survivors. Using grounded theory approach based on 16 semi-structured interviews and large N survey, this dissertation proposes and tests three theories that connect political behavior and sexual assault. First, I propose a theory of Political System Attribution and demonstrate that as women place more blame on politics for their assault, they are more likely to have more liberal political attitudes and engage in more political participation acts concerning women’s rights. Second, I propose a theory that states Attending Therapy will affect political behavior, though the results for this theory are null. Last, I propose a theory about a Survivor/Victim Identity that shows if someone strongly identifies as a Survivor/Victim, they will be more liberal on policy attitudes, more supportive of oppressed groups and engage in more political participation acts concerning women’s rights.