The Elusive Pursuit of Justice: Sexual Assault Survivors' Speak About Redress in the Aftermath of Violence

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dc.contributor.advisorLawrence, Sonia
dc.contributor.authorBurnett, Tamera Ashley Margaret
dc.date.accessioned2023-03-28T21:17:03Z
dc.date.available2023-03-28T21:17:03Z
dc.date.copyright2022-11-22
dc.date.issued2023-03-28
dc.date.updated2023-03-28T21:17:02Z
dc.degree.disciplineLaw
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThe struggle of survivors to obtain justice after they have been sexually assaulted has been a much discussed topic in recent years. Significant attention and resources are being directed towards this issue, making academic research particularly valuable at this time. However, instead of asking how legal processes can theoretically be made better, as is the case in most of the literature on this topic, my focus has been on asking why survivors want to engage in a legal process at all. What do they get from reporting their assaults and does what the legal system offers them respond to what survivors are looking for from justice? This project starts this conversation by asking survivors what they think justice should be in the aftermath of a sexual assault. Using feminist standpoint epistemology and grounded theory, I interviewed sixteen survivors and seven lawyers to explore what justice means for survivors in the aftermath of an assault. From the data, I identified four major themes including: harms and healing, accountability, punishment, and restorative justice. I found that survivors were not satisfied with the justice they could obtain under criminal law. They stated that it was difficult, financially and emotionally, to engage in criminal proceedings that were unlikely to resolve in a way that made them feel as if justice was done. While other forms of legal justice are also available, survivors often found these to be inaccessible as well, or they were unaware of the existence of these alternative options. The survivors I spoke with imagined an expansive ideal of justice. To most of the women I interviewed with, justice involved the prevention of future violence, something they did not think the legal system was currently equipped to deal with. They were curious, though conflicted, about restorative models, but appreciated their focus on attempting to reform offender behaviour. They also stressed the importance of being supported in their attempts to recover from sexual assault, highlighting that financial compensation was crucial for any survivor to heal.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/40990
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectLaw
dc.subjectGender studies
dc.subject.keywordsLaw
dc.subject.keywordsCriminal law
dc.subject.keywordsLegal system
dc.subject.keywordsSexual assault
dc.subject.keywordsJustice
dc.subject.keywordsSurvivors
dc.subject.keywordsFeminism
dc.subject.keywordsFeminist legal theory
dc.subject.keywordsGrounded theory
dc.subject.keywordsFeminist standpoint epistemology
dc.subject.keywordsCanadian law
dc.subject.keywordsSexual violence
dc.subject.keywordsRestorative justice
dc.subject.keywordsTransformative justice
dc.subject.keywordsCivil law
dc.subject.keywordsAccountability
dc.subject.keywordsPunishment
dc.subject.keywordsHarms of sexual assault
dc.subject.keywordsHealing from sexual assault
dc.titleThe Elusive Pursuit of Justice: Sexual Assault Survivors' Speak About Redress in the Aftermath of Violence
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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