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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1977 "I was raped": Problems in constructing and telling the believable account Claire Elaine Johnson The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Johnson, Claire Elaine, ""I was raped": Problems in constructing and telling the believable account" (1977). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5983. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5983 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "I WAS RAPED": PRC®LEMS IN CCNSTRÜCTING AND TELLING THE BELIEVABLE AXOUNT By Claire E. Johnson B.A., California State University Hayward, 1972 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MOÏTANA Approved by: d of Examiners School L12 Z Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: EP36784 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Oi«MrMtk>n PuUi«hing UMI EP36784 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest' ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 -1 3 4 6 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. /11 Jctascxi, Claire E., Ph. D., June 12, 1977 Sociology "I Was Raped": Problems In Constructing And Telling Ihe Believable Account Director : Rcdcert W. Balch The topic of this study Zs tfié problem of formulating and telling a credible account of rape. Rape victims must decide what, vhen and to vhcm they are going to tell, if they tell at all. In de­ ciding vhether to tell, victims consider the believability of their stories. Victims also take others into account by considering how those persons will respond if and vdien they are told of the rape. The objective of this paper is to reach greater understanding of these rape victim problems through a description of the telling process as a social event. Qualitative research procedures were followed throughout this study. An unstructured, casual conversation interview was used to obtain the data. Fifteen rape victims were interviewed about their rape experiences. To make discussion in this paper most relevant to the perspective of the rape victims, the story of telling has been presented to a large degree in the victim's own words. The problem of formulating a credible account is crucially im­ portant because the believability canes to bear the personal emd social identity that the victim's must live with the rest of their lives. A key issue here is the degree to which the victim feels personally responsible for the rape. Determination of responsibility results from the victim's comparison of her own rape e^qperience with the rape nyths of American society. -The more the victim's account mirrors Wiat others (and the victim) typically hold to be a "real" rape, the greater the probability the account will be accepted as credible and, therefore, the greater probability that the victim will tell. 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE œ œNTENTS Page ABSTRACT........... ü LEST OF TABLES ........................................... vi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION....................................... 1 MEIHWOLOGY .......... 3 Interview ................................... 6 Sampling .................................. 7 Analysis of D a t a .............................. 8 2. 'ME RAP E ................................... 9 BEFORE THE RAPE; THE S E T - U P ....................... 10 Stereotypical, Stranger-To-Stranger Set-Upâ.......... 10 Acquaintance Set-Ups ........................... 12 DURING THE RAPE: THE SEXUAL ENCOUNTER ............... 14 Violaice: Threats and Bodily H a r m ................. 14 R e s i s t a n c e ................ ........ ........ 16 Feeling Overv^ielmed ............................ 17 Talk: What He Told M e ..................... 18 Being "Gone Mentally" ........................... 19 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. END CF THE ENCOUNTER: GOING SEPARATE WAYS ...... 20 "Imnediate Outcry".. ............................ 20 S h o c k ................ 21 Circumstances of the Victim's R e l e a s e .............. 21 Taking a S h c w e r ........ 22 SUMMARY ....................... 23 3. "DAMAGED GOODS" . ......................... 24 RAPE MYTOS .......................... 25 SPOIIED IDENTITY .......................... 31 Change in Self-Concept ....................... 32 G u i l t ................................... 35 SUNMARY........................... 40 4. DECIDING TO TELL: THE VICTIM'S PERSONAL ASSESSMENT OF HER SITUATION................................. 42 BELIEVABILITY: MENTALLY MAKING THE C ASE ............. 43 Physical Evidence of R a p e ....................... 45 Past Reputations..................... •.......... 45 Victim’s Uptoringing............................ 48 Victim's Response ....................... 49 Responsibility for Initiating the Encounger ........ 50 "THE SYSTEM".................. 50 The Police .......... 51 The Courts . ................................ 52 SUPPORT NETWORK ................................. 53 SUMYIARY........................................ 55 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 5. TELLING: ANTICIPATION BECOMES REALITY................ 57 THE FIRST PERSON T O I D ........... .57 THE POLICE .................... 61 Good Treatment................................ 61 Mixed Responses ........ 61 AT THE H O S P I T A L ........ 63 SIGNIFICANT OHffiRS ............................. 64 P a r e n t s ........... 64 Mate ....................................... 66 THE PROBLEM Œ OTHERS NOT KNOWING HOW TO RESPOND .... 67 S U t W A R Y ..................... 68 6. SUMYIARY AND CONCLUSIONS ..................... 69 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................ 73 APPENDIXES ......................... 76 A. METHODOLOGY .................. 76 B. SŒMARY TABLES .................................... 84 C. SELECTED RAPE ACCOUNTS ...................... 91 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Victim Age at Time of Rape 84 2. Marital Status at Time of Rape 85 3. Date of Rape 85 4. Locaticai of Rape - Geographical 85 5. Location of Rape - Place 86 6. Time of Day of Assault 86 7. Degree of Victinv/Offender Acquaintance 86 8. Victim Activity at Time of Assault 86 9. Social Situation of Rape 87 10. Offender Restraint of Victim 87 11. Victim Resistance ' 87 12. Victim Injuries Sustained 88 13. Weapon Used 88 14. Number of Offenders Per Rape 88 15. Offender Ethnicity 88 16. When and to Whan Victim's Reported 89 17. Victim's Prosecuting 89 18. Victim's Age at Time of Interview 90 VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I have been assaulted Met in the dark- Frightened by a knife RcAibed of that which to others I mig^t v«nt to give And take Poor creature, anonymous Who struck a personal blow Against all women, Is there sucdi an issue Agciinst giving and receiving love That this was necessary? Brenda J. Carroll Vll Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Rape is an atrocious crime, an act Wiich violates a person's innermost physical and psychological being and can leave scars vAich may last a lifetime. Unlike victims of other crimes, the rape victim must prove she did not contribute to her assault. She is forced by society tx> pay for her victimization in humiliation and the loss of her self-image as a person. In court she has few of the legal protections accorded her assailant, althou^ it is her credibility and reputation vfeLch are in effect on trial. Rape victims are considered guilty until proven innocent. Victims are denied their rights cis humans by the attitudes of our society and institutions (Gager and Schurr, 1976:291). Ihe topic of this study is the prdDlem of formulating and telling a credible account of rape. Rape victims must decide what, when and to vhom t h ^ are going to tell, if they tell at all. In deciding whether to tell, victims ccnsider the believability of their stories. Victims also take others into account by considering hew those persons will respond if and when they are told of the rape. The objective of this paper is to reach greater understanding of these rape victim problems through a description of the telling process

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