Speaking through the silence : adult female survivors of intra-familial child sexual assault envisioning justice and resistance in Australian criminal justice systems

Abstract

This thesis explored the experiences of adult survivors of intra-familial child sexual assault and the experiences of victimisation, and perceptions of justice, that influence their decision making behaviour as adults. Utilising feminist epistemology and social constructivism, this research examined the lived experiences of adult survivors of intra-familial CSA, as well the views of expert stakeholders who work in a legal, advocacy or welfare capacity with survivors. Twenty two adult survivors completed questionnaires, and fifteen survivors participated in narrative interviews. Nine stakeholder groups also answered semi-structured interviews. Results from the research established the nexus between early experiences of long term intra-familial CSA and bystander denial within the family. The family as an institution influenced survivors’ capacity to engage with the criminal justice system as well as criminal justice responses. Additional results demonstrated that not all survivors engaged with the criminal justice system, yet those who used the criminal justice system as a critical space of resistance. Survivors engaged in strategies of resistance in such a way that emphasised their own subjective identity and subversion of the subjugation they experienced as children. The need to establish a subjective identity was essential, and reflected also in survivors’ perceptions of justice. The results demonstrated that contrary to popular myths pertaining to the vengeful victim, survivors desired validation, compensation, an opportunity to be heard, as well as perpetrator accountability. Of note is the finding that contrary to Janoff-Bulman’s (1985) and later Zehr’s (2002) assertion that crime victims suffer from a sense of ‘shattered meaning’ after their victimisation, survivors of intra-familial CSA by its inherent nature, had rarely experienced a sense of safety, or ‘just world’ prior to the abuse. The implications of these findings were reflected in their compatibility with Hudson’s (2002, 2006) innovative justice principles, and their application to the current debate in Australia regarding sexual assault law reform. These findings highlighted the compatibility of survivors’ justice needs with the development of specialist courts, with a few caveats. In order for specialist courts to address survivors’ justice visions, a principle of non-adversarialism must be explored, with an incorporation of restorative justice values.