Social Reactions to Disclosure of Sexual Violence in Adulthood and Women’s Sexuality: The Mediating Role of Shame and Guilt

Abstract

This study examined the mediating role of emotions related to sexual violence in adulthood in the associations between social reactions to sexual violence disclosure and sexual outcomes. Self-reported data were collected from 324 women reporting sexual violence and path analyses were conducted among the 264 women (81.5%) who disclosed their most recent sexual violence experience. Results showed that emotional support was associated with higher sexual satisfaction. Victim blame was associated with greater guilt related to the sexual violence, which, in turn, was associated with higher sexual compulsivity. Stigmatization was associated with greater shame related to the sexual violence, which, in turn, was associated with higher sexual distress and avoidance, and lower sexual satisfaction and function. Our findings highlight the importance of social reactions to sexual violence disclosure in women’s sexuality.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Carolyne Gosselin and Elodie Hamel for their assistance with data collection.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Marie-Chloé Nolin was supported by a master’s degree scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Beáta Bőthe was supported by the Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students (PBEEE) awarded by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement Supérieur (MEES). This work was funded by an internal grant from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières to Marie-Pier Vaillancourt-Morel.