Victim Blame: More than Victims, More than Blame

This event is now fully booked. We are holding a second session on 10th Jan 24 for which you can book places here.

As part of SWA’s 16-Days programme, Dr Amy Beddows will deliver this session on her PHD research around victim blaming. Amy’s research focused on women’s experiences of victim blame from agencies and professionals following sexual violence. She ran focus groups with women at Rape Crisis Centres across England and Wales and found that negative responses from services towards survivors extended far beyond blaming women for the violence they had been subjected to. Women felt disrespected, dehumanised, and responsibilised on account of their gender, their race and ethnicity, immigration status, ability, class, and sexuality more than the fact they had experienced rape or abuse. These processes were apparent across services and sectors, including specialist sexual violence organisations.

This session will explore the findings of this research, discuss the different aspects of agencies through which negative processes are enacted, and generate discussion around concrete steps that agencies can take to improve the experiences of survivors.

Facilitator: Amy obtained her PhD from the Child & Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) in 2022. She also has a special interest in media representations and the role they can play in enabling or challenging gendered violence. She lives in Edinburgh where she works as a trauma therapist and an independent consultant on violence against women.