Injustice Disrupted: Experiences of Just Spaces by Victim-Survivors of Sexual Violence
| Author | Hildur Fjóla Antonsdóttir |
| Published date | 01 October 2020 |
| Date | 01 October 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0964663919896065 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Injustice Disrupted:
Experiences of Just Spaces
by Victim-Survivors
of Sexual Violence
Hildur Fj ´
ola Antonsd ´
ottir
Lund University, Sweden
Abstract
Given the limitations of the criminal justice system to address cases of sexual violence,
feminist scholars are increasingly exploring alternative approaches to justice. Here I ask:
What is the role of space in the way victim-survivors of sexual violence can experience
justice outside the criminal justice system? Can an understanding of space help us
develop justice responses to sexual violence? Interviews were conducted with 35 victim-
survivors of sexual violence in Iceland. In cases where offenders remained or re-entered
their life space in some way, many participants described feelings of profound fear and
anxiety. Participants used a variety of different socio-spatial strategies to ensure that they
would not find themselves in the same space as the offenders. Based on the context as
well as the networks and mechanisms available to them, these included surrendering,
avoiding, negotiating, fighting for, protecting and (re)claiming spaces. Drawing on the
concept of the continuum of sexual violence, I suggest that participants’ experiences can
be conceptualized on a continuum of injustice. To the degree that participants were able
to create what I call just spaces, they gained a sense of belonging, empowerment and
freedom, which I suggest can be understood as disrupting this continuum of injustice.
Keywords
Justice, sexual violence, space, victim-survivors
Corresponding author:
Hildur Fj´
ola Antonsd´
ottir, Department of Sociology of Law, Lund University, Allhelgona Kyrkogata 14M, 223
62 Lund, 3rd Floor, Box 42, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.
Email: hildur_fjola.antonsdottir@soclaw.lu.se
Social & Legal Studies
2020, Vol. 29(5) 718–744
ªThe Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0964663919896065
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Introduction
Some feminist scholars argue for a more expansive notion of survivor-centred justice in
cases of sexual violence as opposed to only equating justice with punitive state actions
(e.g. Fileborn and Vera-Gray, 2017; Herman, 2005; Powell et al., 2015; Ptacek, 2009;
Zinsstag and Keenan, 2017). It is, therefore, important to understand how victim-
survivors understand and experience justice. In the work presented here, I followed the
lines of enquiry made by Herman (2005), Ju
¨lich (2006) and McGlynn and Westmarland
(2018) and interviewed 35 survivors of sexual violence in Iceland about their ideas and
experiences of justice outside the criminal justice system. Using thematic analysis
(Braun and Clarke, 2006; Clarke et al., 2016), the notion of space and its relationship
with justice was identified as the focus of the study. Therefore, I ask in this article: What
is the role of space in the way victim-survivors of sexual violence can experience justice?
Can an understanding of space help us develop justice responses to sexual violence?
Many participants described feelings of profound fear and anxiety in cases where offen-
ders remained or re-entered their life space in some way, thus severely limiting their
agency and freedom of movement as well as their social, educational and economic
relations and opportunities. Depending on the context, participants faced with limited
familial, social and institutional resources usually had to surrender or negotiate spaces to
avoid the offender, while participants with access to greater resources were able to use
different socio-spatial strategies to fight for, protect and (re)claim their spaces. To
conceptualize these findings, I build upon Liz Kelly’s (1988) concept of the continuum
of sexual violence to capture the range and extent of injustices experienced by victim-
survivors of sexual violence both in terms of being subjected to sexual violence and in
dealing with the aftermath of sexual violence. Approaching justice as a kaleidoscopic
(McGlynn and Westmarland, 2018), pluralistic and deconstructive force, I argue that the
(re)claiming of space can be understood as a type of disruption or as an intervention in
the continuum of injustice, whereby victim-survivors can experience a sense of justice,
empowerment, belonging and freedom.
A note on terminology: I use the concept of ‘victim-survivor’ to refer to people who
have been subjected to sexual violence and physically survived. However, I share the
understanding with Kelly et al. (1996) that this concept is to be understood as different
aspects of experience rather than an either/or fixed identity or in terms of a chronological
separation of different identities or the assumption that there is a journey to be made from
being a victim to being a survivor. For people who have been subjected to sexual
violence, it can be important to claim an identity as a victim or as a survivor depending
on the context and their subjective experiences at any given time, or, indeed, to claim
neither and to go beyond these identities/labels because ‘[w]e are all far more than what
was done to us’ (Kelly et al., 1996: 96).
Sexual Violence, Space and Justice
The global prevalence of sexual and intimate partner violence suggests that the threat of
such violence is a reality for every woman, although women in some parts of the world
are more vulnerable than others (Krah´e, 2016). The #metoo movement on social media,
Antonsd´
ottir 719
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