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Rape survivors who speak out about their assault
experiences are often punished for doing so when they
are subjected to negative reactions from support providers.
These negative reactions may thereby serve a silencing
function, leading some rape survivors to stop talking about
their experiences to anyone at all. The current study sought to
examine this worst case scenario. Focusing on the qualitative
narratives of eight rape survivors who initially disclosed the
assault but then stopped disclosing for a significant period
of time, this study sought to provide an in-depth description
of how negative reactions silenced these survivors. Three
routes to silence were identified: 1) negative reactions
from professionals led survivors to question whether
future disclosures would be effective; 2) negative reactions
from friends and family reinforced feelings of self-blame;
and 3) negative reactions from either source reinforced
uncertainty about whether their experiences qualified as
rape. Implications for future research and practice are
discussed. Keywords:
victimisation