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Does Acknowledging Assault Make Victims Less Vulnerable?

Research has shown that someone who has experienced sexual or physical assault in the past is at a greater risk for victimization in the future. Some speculate that this may be because these individuals may be less attuned to risk factors, perhaps due to emotional avoidance or a disturbed ability to interpret interpersonal cues.

A recent study by University of Georgia researchers Charity B. Hammond and Karen S. Calhoun sought to investigate whether the act of calling an incident of sexual or physical violence as assault--something many victims do not do--might be the key to increasing an individual's perception of vulnerability and in turn, efforts to prevent future incidents. The experiment also examined the factors that lead individuals whether or not these acts were labeled as assault or abuse.

One hundred ninety-eight participants were selected from a pool of female undergraduates for the study on the basis of having experienced at least one incidence of child sexual abuse, adolescent or adult sexual assault or adult physical abuse. Participants completed a questionnaire on the specifics of at least one incident and rated on a scale of 1 to 5 whether or not the incident could be described as either sexual abuse, sexual assault or physical abuse, depending on the type of incident. Participants also rated statements about their chances of experiencing future assault or abuse and their feelings of control over these situations. This included items such as "I feel pretty sure that I won't be assaulted again" and "I have changed certain behaviors to avoid being assaulted again."

Results showed that less than 65 percent of incidents were identified as "definitely" sexual or physical assault. Incidents in which the perpetrator was someone who the victim knew, particularly a romantic partner, were less likely to be labeled as assault, as were incidents that did not involve violence or occurred in adulthood rather than childhood.

Interestingly, results showed that this labeling did not affect how vulnerable women perceived themselves. That is to say, women rated an incident of rape as "definitely sexual assault" did not feel more vulnerable, overall, than women who rated an incident of rape as "not sure" or "definitely not sexual assault." However, despite not reporting feelings of increased vulnerability, women who acknowledged having been sexually assaulted did tend to change their behaviors to avoid future incidents even if they had reported not feeling at any risk for future assault.

The findings suggest that the relationships between labeling, perceiving (or perhaps acknowledging) and taking actions to prevent future assault are complicated. Despite what some researchers have suggested, labeling the assault as such likely does not increase perceptions of vulnerability, but may still help victims better identify future risks.

ABSTRACT: Labeling of Abuse Experiences and Rates of Victimization