The “Third-Victimization”: The Cybervictimization of Sexual Assault Survivors and Their Families

• Published date: 01 August 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/10439862211001616
• Date: 01 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862211001616

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2021, Vol. 37(3) 356 –378

© The Author(s) 2021

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/10439862211001616

journals.sagepub.com/home/ccj

Article

The “Third-Victimization”:

The Cybervictimization of

Sexual Assault Survivors

and Their Families

Shelly Clevenger1 and Jordana Navarro2

Abstract

Sexual assault has a devastating effect on survivors as well as their family and friends

(i.e., secondary survivors). Research shows that survivors’ abilities to cope in the

aftermath of sexual trauma are particularly difficult in the “internet” age. This struggle

stems from the abilities of perpetrators to use cyberspace to abuse, harass, and

threaten survivors vis-à-vis various cybercrimes: cyberstalking, cybersexual abuse,

and cyberfraud. Indeed, a survivor in this study referred to the cybervictimizations

as the “third-victimization” because it followed the sexual assault (first) and the

“revictimization” experienced during the pursuit of justice (second). This article

presents the results of semistructured interviews about the third-victimization of 48

female survivors and 89 secondary survivors, the family of the survivor. These results

show that all primary and most secondary survivors (91%) experienced at least one

third-victimization, with a majority experiencing multiple forms.

Keywords

cybercrime, cyber domestic abuse, cyberfraud, cyber intimate partner abuse, cybersexual

abuse

Despite years of awareness and conscious raising, research continues to show that

sexual assaults are far from rare occurrences (Borrajo, Gámez-Guadix, & Calvete,

2015; Fedina et al., 2018; Smith et al., 2018). What is even more alarming is that the

1Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA

2The Citadel, Charleston, SC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Shelly Clevenger, Associate Professor & Department Chairperson, Department of Victim Studies,

Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77340, USA.

Email: sxc167@shsu.edu

1001616CCJXXX10.1177/10439862211001616Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeClevenger and Navarro

research-article2021

Clevenger and Navarro 357

prior statement is based on reported cases, which only captures a fraction of actual

incidents given under-reporting (Sinozich & Langton, 2014). While the perpetration

of sexual assault is horrific and calls for continued attention, a much less-studied

area of sexual violence is what a survivor in this study referred to as the third-vic-

timization. This term, “third-victimization,” refers to the online retaliation by perpe-

trators after the actual crime (first-victimization) during the pursuit of justice where

a survivor might encounter revictimization (second-victimization) in the retelling of

their story. Given the accessibility and anonymity possible in cyberspace, this third-

victimization might include any or multiple of the following cybercrimes: cyber-

fraud, cybersexual abuse, and cyberstalking.

To bring light to this understudied area of cybercrime and sexual violence, we con-

ducted semistructured interviews at rape crisis centers throughout Illinois from 2013

to 2020. This manuscript presents the results of those interviews that involved 48

female sexual assault survivors and 89 of their loved ones whom we refer to as “sec-

ondary survivors.” These results underscore the point that sexual assault is not neces-

sarily bound in time and space; instead, perpetrators can continue abusing their targets

(i.e., primary survivors) and find new targets (i.e., secondary survivors) long after the

initial crime. We ground that statement in the overall finding of this study that most

survivors—both primary (100%) and secondary (89%)—experienced at least one type

of “third-victimization,” with many experiencing multiple forms. This manuscript

presents an in-depth discussion of these experiences, situates these critical stories

within the cybercrime and sexual assault fields, and concludes by suggesting improve-

ments to policies and procedures as pathways toward intervention and prevention.

Cyber Retaliation: Offenders’ Use of Cyberspace to

Punish Sexual Abuse Survivors

Nationally representative studies show that rape and sexual assault continue to occur

at alarming frequencies within the United States of America (Morgan & Kena, 2017;

Smith et al., 2017). Although these terms are often used interchangeably, there are

slight differences worth noting. The descriptor “sexual assault” refers to a wide array

of actions like the touching of intimate body parts without consent, which may (but not

necessarily involve) penetration (Burgess-Proctor & Urban, 2014). Unlike that broad

descriptor, the term “rape” refers to an event where physical interaction included pen-

etration, regardless of method (i.e., nonphysical or physical force) and mode (i.e.,

genitals, hand/object, oral), without consent of all involved (Burgess-Proctor & Urban,

2014).

One etiological pattern that presents across studies, regardless of geography and

time, is that a greater proportion of women are victimized compared to men (Cantor

et al., 2015; Conroy & Cotter, 2017; Fedina et al., 2018; Smith et al., 2017); however,

men are also not likely to report victimizations given prevailing heteronormative gen-

der norms (Turchik & Edwards, 2012). Another consistent pattern across studies is

that sexual abuse is usually perpetrated by individuals known to survivors: intimate

partners, loved ones, or acquaintances (Conroy & Cotter, 2017; Domino et al., 2020;