The “Symbolic Protest” Behind Women’s Reporting of Sexual Assault Crime to Police
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: We introduce the term symbolic protest to identify and analyze a key motivator for the reporting decisions of victims of sexual violence. We contend that reporting sexual assault crime to police is an important expression of “symbolic protest” at a criminal justice system that does not generally serve women’s interests. Women show great courage and self-sacrifice in reporting sexual assault crime, and we identify three major factors that motivate them to do so, namely, (a) the need to have sexual assault recognized as a crime, (b) a desire to raise community awareness of sexual assault, and (c) a desire to protect other women and girls.
Source: Feminist Criminology
Authors: S.Caroline Taylor, Caroline Norma
Institutions: Edith Cowan University, RMIT University
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2149331532