Searching for what was lost: An autoethnography on disclosure, identity, and social construction from a rape victim and survivor's perspective

Abstract

Research has indicated that rape victims perceive their environment differently, or with a "new reality" after their rape, and their recovery process can be lengthy and traumatic. This auto-ethnography focuses on the recovery process that the author journals, and her transformation from victim to survivor. How are the labels of "victim" and "survivor" important to the rape recovery process? How is the decision to disclose the rape a trust issue? What drives the phases of disclosure development at different communication levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and public communication)? Once a person has accepted that they were raped and a healing process is well under way, what communication behaviors signal identity changes? How do victims and survivors of rape socially construct a recovery process?

Date of Award	2005
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Melanie Mills (Supervisor)