‘It doesn’t meet the requirements of violence or intimidation’. A discursive study of judgments of sexual abuse

Abstract

This study delves into the main discourses found in five sexual abuse judgments, in different Spanish Courts. The analysis employs Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis in order to explore the topic of sexual violence, its understanding, and the dominant discourses revealed in these judgments of sexual abuse, and to investigate the way rape cases are treated discursively in Court from a feminist perspective. The dominant discourses found have been those of sexuality; inaction of the survivor; and lack of violence and/or intimidation. Unravelling these hidden ideologies and relationships of power is crucial to give us a better awareness of the dominant ideas surrounding violence against women.