The second rape: an investigative analysis of rape myth narratives in courtroom and media discourses

Abstract

This PhD explores how societal myths about rape founded on gender stereotypes seep into courtroom and media discourses on rape to augment victim responsibility and diminish perpetrator accountability. This piece of academic research, employing a feminist-Foucauldian theoretical framework, critically analyses the rape myth narratives that are deftly woven into the linguistic fabric of defence counsel cross-examinations of female victims through the social organisation of courtroom talk to distort ideas about rape, victims/perpetrators, and consent. What results is a legalised character assassination of victims by putting them on trial – defenceless against draconian defence polemic. These narratives extend beyond the remit of the rape trial courtroom through news media’s reconstruction of rape cases as one of sensationalism and scandal through the sexual objectification of rape victims, helping create a culture of rape that reduces it to a crime of victim blaming and shaming. The rapist, then, is not the only perpetrator at play, leading some victims to cite the aftermath of the attack as ‘the second rape.’

This research is underpinned by a qualitative methodological framework using redacted court transcripts from three distinct acquaintance rape trials and the subsequent media reports on these cases. This symbiotic approach provides a microscopic insight into how language operates as a form of discursive power at different sites by disguising rape myths as relevant facts within discourse. This research also outlines the difficulties of applying this methodology and the barriers to accessing justice particular hurdles pose from a victim-orientated and research perspective.

The findings of this study, grounded by a robust theoretical framework, ultimately illuminate the shaded narratives that blur the lines between consent and nonconsent, and turn rape from a singular act of power into a vicious cycle of re-traumatisation and re-victimisation.

Date of Award	Oct 2025
Original language	English
Sponsors	Department for the Economy
Supervisor	Fidelma Ashe (Supervisor) & Shauna Page (Supervisor)