Dramatising a contemporary childhood sexual abuse narrative: reinforcing a hierarchy of victims

ABSTRACT

Following a number of high-profile sexual exploitation/grooming cases, such as that which culminated in the trial of nine men in Rochdale, UK in 2012, and accusations against Jimmy Savile and other celebrity figures, the sexual abuse of children has been recognised as an issue of major public concern. These cases received considerable news coverage, but there has also been a proliferation of dramas covering both “real life” events and fictional stories. In this article I take a narrative approach to explore the construction of victims in two such dramas both aired on UK television in 2017 and later broadcast worldwide: Three Girls, a docudrama based on the Rochdale case, and Unforgotten, a fictional drama that resonates with the Savile case. In drawing on a singular narrative of childhood sexual abuse and the ideal victim these dramas, I argue, leave many stories untold, and help to consolidate a new victim hierarchy—based not on what is done to a person, but on who they are or might (have) become. The dangers of this or any other singular story, I argue, go beyond the UK context of these two dramas.

KEYWORDS:

• Dramatising child sexual abuse
• historic sexual abuse
• stories
• narrative frameworks
• victims

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Jimmy Savile was a well-known English DJ, television and radio personality. Following his death, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse were made against him, leading the police to conclude that he had possibly been one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jo Woodiwiss

Jo Woodiwiss Reader in Sociology, is Director of the Centre for Citizenship, Conflict, Identity and Diversity at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Jo’s research explores (historic) childhood sexual abuse, childhood sexuality, LGBT+ young people, and their intersections with gender and/or sexuality. She is particularly interested in how these are constructed in/constrained by dominant narratives and media representations. She is the author of Contesting stories of childhood sexual abuse (Woodiwiss 2009) and co-editor of Feminist narrative research (Woodiwiss 2017).