Résumé
"The anti-violence movement developed a feminist discourse of sexual violence that offered alternative, contextualised understandings and practices. The movement was the catalyst for specialised centres that aimed to meet survivors’ needs, recognising that traditional services were capable of further victimising women. This comparative case study examines four urban sexual violence support centres. Archival data and interviews with twelve rape workers from community- and hospital-based sites were collected and analysed using a historically informed, gender-based discourse analysis. The majority of participants had a feminist-informed understanding of sexual violence, which was associated with feminist practices and overlapped with descriptions of positive social reactions that enhance survivors’ well being. In contrast, one site understood sexual violence from a mainstream and legal discourse, which decontextualised understandings and practices. This thesis illustrates the relationship between understandings and practices, as well as the importance of a feminist discourse in working with survivors."--Page ii.