Kaleidoscopic Justice: Sexual Violence and Victim-Survivors’ Perceptions of Justice

Abstract

This article proposes a more multifaceted way of thinking about victim-survivors' perceptions of justice; what we have termed 'kaleidoscopic justice'. Developed from an empirical investigation with 20 victim-survivors of sexual violence, kaleidoscopic justice understands justice as a constantly shifting pattern; justice constantly refracted through new experiences or understandings; justice as an ever-evolving, nuanced and lived experience. Within this framework, a number of justice themes emerged, namely justice as consequences, recognition, dignity, voice, prevention and connectedness. This approach develops current understandings, in particular by emphasizing the fluidity of justice, as well as the centrality of prevention and connectedness in sexual violence survivors' understandings of justice. We suggest that it is only by better understanding victim-survivor perspectives on justice, and embedding the concept of kaleidoscopic justice, that we can begin to address the sexual violence 'justice gap'.

Compensation as a means to justice? Sexual violence survivors’ views on the tort law option in Iceland

“…Research on how victim-survivors of sexual violence understand and experience justice is limited, although there are important exceptions (Herman 2005;Jülich 2006;Holder 2015;Clark 2015;McGlynn et al 2017;Jülich and Landon 2017;Antonsdóttir 2018;McGlynn and Westmarland 2019).…”

“…The literature suggests that the meaning of justice for survivors of sexual violence has several components, such as: having a voice, being treated with dignity, being informed, and being able to participate in the justice process (Daly 2017;McGlynn and Westmarland 2019); experiencing validation and vindication (Daly 2017) and having the experience fully recognised as having taken place and being true (McGlynn and Westmarland 2019); (re)gaining a sense of connectedness and belonging in society, which is related to being treated with dignity and respect, and about being psychologically, financially and socially supported; and for there to be meaningful consequences for the offender, which includes offender responsibility but is not necessarily tied to punishment (McGlynn and Westmarland 2019). Justice is not only about calling wrongdoers to account, but also having them take responsibility for their actions (Daly 2017).…”

“…Finally, the prevention of sexual violence is of fundamental importance to survivors' sense of justice. It entails the transformation of society into one that understands and recognises the harms of sexual violence and that actively makes efforts to reduce its prevalence, and therefore goes beyond (though still includes) the rehabilitation of individual offenders (McGlynn and Westmarland 2019).…”

Sexual violence against women: a multidisciplinary integrated care model

“…Physical examination and evidence collection should be conducted in full respect of women’s dignity, which is an important component of their perception of justice 3. A lack of sensitivity during these procedures might intensify psychological trauma by re-exposing women to objectification, in the sense of feeling treated like a body of evidence rather than a person of worth.…”

Medical risks or complex narratives?

“…In addition, it might be a better strategy to frame oneself as a victim to stress innocence and vulnerability, for example, in the context of a court trial. (Knowles, 2013) (Schwark & Bohner, 2019) (McGlynn & Westmarland, 2018) However, to recover from the experience and create a positive self-identity, adopting the term survivor might be the better strategy (Thompson, 2000).…”