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Telling Our Stories: The Importance of Women's Narratives of Resistance

NCJ Number
232269
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 16 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2010 Pages: 1162-1172
Author(s)
Jill Cermele
Date Published
October 2010
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article examines the importance of women's retelling of their successful experiences of resistance to their attackers, both to themselves and to other victims.
Abstract
While more research is emerging on women's capacity for successful resistance and the benefits of self-defense training for women, "resistance" to the idea of women's resistance remains high. In this note, the author describes the importance of bringing true accounts of successful resistance to both academic and lay communities, and the benefits to women of recounting their own experiences of successful resistance to violence and harassment. Such accounts provide new scripts for women's options in responding to violence, mark attempted but thwarted rape as a visible event, and remind women of their own agency in the face of assault. References (Published Abstract)