“I feel more like a superhero” - A Narrative Analysis of Victimization and Agency in Relation to Experiences of Sexual Assaults

Abstract

Rape is in many contexts considered being the worst thing that can ever happen to a person and is supposed to result in a life-long trauma. But there is a gap between those who are constructing this discourse and the ones that are being victimized. In this thesis I have interviewed four women who have experienced sexual assaults. We have had conversations about how they negotiate this victimization. For all of the women the assaults lie several years back in time. For my analysis, I have used narrative theory and method in relation to the concepts of victimization, agency and identity. By using this framework I have analysed the storytelling of the informants’ experiences in the specific interview situation. The narratives show that several years after the assaults the informants do not consider the assaults being the worst thing that have happened to them. They have all developed different strategies in order to disidentify with this victimization. The informants request an understanding of the victim concept that gives an opportunity to be considered both active and passive at the same time. This understanding can be enabled by the concept of agency. One way of making resistance to the contemporary discourse and to challenge the victimization of people who have experienced sexual assaults can be to reclaim the socio-structural understanding of being a victim.