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What's in a Label? The Impact of Media and Sexual Assault Characteristics on Survivor Rape Acknowledgment
Author(s) -
Newins Amie R.,
Wilson Laura C.,
Kanefsky Rebekah Z.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.22626
Subject(s) - sexual assault , psychology , injury prevention , assertiveness , suicide prevention , poison control , clinical psychology , social media , resistance (ecology) , occupational safety and health , human factors and ergonomics , odds , psychiatry , medicine , social psychology , medical emergency , logistic regression , ecology , political science , law , biology , pathology
Media coverage of sexual assault has increased since 2017 due to high‐profile cases and social media campaigns designed to increase awareness of sexual assault. The purpose of this study was to examine whether media coverage of the Harvey Weinstein allegations and the onset of the 2017 viral #MeToo movement impacted the likelihood of college women acknowledging their own victimization as rape. Participants were 207 female rape survivors who completed an online survey that included assessments of survivor acknowledgment and characteristics of the sexual assault. Some participants completed the study prior to the Harvey Weinstein allegations and onset of the #MeToo movement, and some participants completed the study after these events. The likelihood of survivors labeling their experience as rape did not differ based on when participants completed the study, odds ratios ( OR s) = 0.61–3.92, p s = .127‐.604. Use of both nonforceful verbal resistance, OR = 2.63, p = .001, and assertive resistance, OR = 3.05, p < .001, were positively associated with the likelihood of survivor acknowledgment. The effects of both perpetrators’ use of force and experiencing immobility on survivor acknowledgment were moderated by the timing of study completion, OR s = 4.22 and 0.11, respectively, p s = .023‐.040. These findings suggest that media coverage may impact how certain sexual assault characteristics influence how survivors label their victimization experiences.