The Process of Obtaining Justice and the Trajectories of Amotivation Among Victims of Sexual Violence in Kisangani: a Reading Through the Theory of Selfdetermination
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the process of obtaining justice for survivors of sexual violence remains severely hindered by structural and institutional dysfunctions. While existing literature frequently examines these obstacles from logistical or legal angles, this study adopts an integrated approach at the crossroads of clinical, social, and health psychology to explore their internal psychological repercussions throughout the procedural stages. Drawing on Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this paper analyzes how local judicial barriers (corruption, hostility, administrative delays) undermine the victim's basic need for competence, driving a shift toward amotivation and the abandonment of legal proceedings. Utilizing an in-depth qualitative design (N=30 documented clinical and legal case files from the Prince Alwaleed Reference Health Center and legal clinics in Kisangani, supplemented by semi-structured interviews), the disaggregated results demonstrate that the failure or interruption of the justice-seeking process is not a passive act of resignation, but the direct product of critical amotivation. This state is triggered by the collapse of selfefficacy in the face of systemic secondary victimization. Perceived corruption and the hostile treatment by law enforcement agents destroy the causal link between the victim's actions and the hope for justice, ultimately paralyzing their resilience mechanisms and mental health.
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7204199161