Objective: The present study explored the experience of public self-disclosure of sexual assault and its perceived effect on recovery from the survivor’s point of view. Method: A sample of 14 Israeli women (between the ages of 23 and 63) who had disclosed their sexual assault experience through various media channels were interviewed, and their accounts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Public self-disclosure was found to be a multifaceted experience, and participants perceived it to affect their recovery in many ways. First, the participants’ motivation for disclosure was a desire to advocate for social change and to find meaning, thereby facilitating their own recovery. Second, the disclosure was seen as a healing experience because it helped the participants forge a resilient and activist identity, reframe the sexual assault narrative, and improve their interpersonal relationships. Last, public disclosure could also be a revictimizing experience because it undermined the participants’ sense of security and made victimization a central feature of their identity. Conclusion: This study suggests that the meaning ascribed to public self-disclosure and its perceived outcomes may be a context-dependent process, shaped by the goals, benefits, and risks of disclosure and weighed against the relevance, benefits, and risks of other options. The results of the research inform the guidance of survivors who are considering public self-disclosure of their sexual assault experience, to ensure they do so safely and beneficially.
The current study aims to describe a spiritual facet of recovery processes from sexual trauma, as manifested in the transformation from the frustration and despair of looking for reasons to the traumatic event(s) to the growth and prosperity of finding meaning. A phenomenological research was conducted, interviewing individuals with a variety of affiliations to spirituality and to trauma: female survivors who turned to spirituality as part of their recovery process ( n = 17), spiritually oriented therapists who treat survivors ( n = 10), and spiritual leaders and teachers who are often consulted by survivors and their close ones ( n = 9). Participants were asked about the nature of perceived transformation of survivors’ trauma, within the meaning context, and about the perceived relevance of such a spiritual meaning-making process to recovery. Findings suggests four stances in the process:(1) doubting, describing frustrations, denials, and struggles, (2) believing, describing the acceptance of the idea that there is spiritual meaning in the trauma, (3) knowing, describing calmness, comfort, trust, and sense of freedom, and (4) doing, describing carrying the message of spiritual recovery to other survivors. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on victimology and on spirituality. It adds to the research on the spiritual meaning-making process, on the role of spirituality in survivors’ perceptions of victimization and recovery, and on the importance of spiritual meaning as a recovery capital. Additionally, it directs therapists to broaden their discussions with survivors on their beliefs and values. The study lays the foundation for a theory entitled Spiritual Victimology.
This study aims to explore how individuals with affiliation to spirituality and victimization attribute sexual trauma and revictimization to spiritual principles and its perceived impact on victim assistance. A phenomenological research was conducted with 36 participants divided into three groups: female survivors who turned to spirituality as part of their recovery process ( n = 17), spiritually oriented therapists who treat survivors ( n = 10), and spiritual leaders and teachers who are often consulted by survivors and their close ones ( n = 9). Findings show three prominent themes: (a) ephemeral and eternal components of existence; (b) learning a lesson; and (c) Tikkun Olam (Hebrew: world’s repairment). The findings contribute theoretical and practical applications: they offer deep insights into the spiritual reason for revictimization and its cessation, and suggest innovative external explanations anchored in ancient knowledge that can alleviate survivors’ suffering from self-blame. The study lays the foundation for an upcoming theory entitled Spiritual Victimology.
This study aims to describe the spiritual characteristics of sexual victimization and the recovery journey of survivors via applying spiritual principles, in order to harness the findings for the development of the theory of Spiritual Victimology. Two research questions were asked: what spiritual principles characterize victimization and recovery from it, and how can spiritual perceptions assist survivors? In a phenomenological study, 17 sexual trauma survivors who view their recovery as a spiritual journey, 10 spiritually-oriented therapists, and 9 spiritual leaders were interviewed. Findings show that a unique, victimized self-centeredness characterized sexual trauma, attaching survivors to a victim identity. By applying spiritual principles, the survivors were gradually opened up to love and developed a new, spiritual sense of self, with better inter- and intra-personal connections, as well as a transpersonal one. This connection was perceived as highly important to survivors’ recovery, freeing them from loneliness and isolation, and helping them to restore some order to the chaos which the trauma and its consequences had imposed on their lives.
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