Seeing Roses in the Thorn Bush: Sexual Assault Survivors' Perceptions of Social Reactions

Objective: After sexual assault, survivors often reach to others for support and receive a range of reactions. Although these reactions have been characterized by researchers as positive (e.g., emotional support) or negative (e.g., victim blaming), survivors vary in their perceptions in ways that do not always match this framework. The goal of this research was to examine the degree to which designations of reactions as "positive" or "negative" fits across types of reactions and explain instances of mismatch between these designations and survivors' perceptions. Method: We conducted a qualitative analysis of interviews with 26 survivors of sexual assault to identify themes in their perceptions of social reactions. Results: Although social reactions were generally perceived in a manner that matched researcher categorizations, there was significant variation. Perceptions could be characterized in terms of whether the reaction felt comfortable/soothing, consistent with survivors' needs/hopes/expectations, and helpful in the long-term. The closeness of survivors' relationships with responders, the degree to which they were impacted by the assault, and the presence of other social reactions explained variation from researcher designations of reaction types. Conclusion: This study clarifies the considerations that survivors make when evaluating social reactions and what accounts for discrepant perceptions of these reactions; in particular, results highlight that there is no "one size fits all" reaction to survivors of sexual assault and the context in which reactions occur may affect how they are seen.