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Article published In: Narrative Inquiry
Vol. 36:1 (2026) ► pp.1–23

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Narrating violent victimization by positioning self and others

ORCiD logo with link | Tampere University
ORCiD logo with link | University of Tennessee
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives (CC BY-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Tampere University.

Published online: 28 February 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.24054.hat
Abstract
Victimologists observe that telling one’s story can foster healing for survivors of violence. To understand these processes better, victims’ narratives must be understood as situated acts of telling. This paper takes one man’s narration of victimization long past — child abuse and rape — as a case. We examined his interview-derived storytelling with a focus on narrative positioning, narrative discourse modes, and negations. We found that Stefan (a pseudonym) used various discursive modes and narrative positionings to exercise control over the stories and what they mean. His agency was partly achieved by what he recounted not doing or saying, and what he refused to address in the interview situation. Thus, his narratives feature his own defiance and self-empowerment in both the scene and the aftermath of violence. These findings lead us to conclude that narrative strategies of storytelling should be taken into account in any practical interventions that involves testimony about harm.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Narrating violence: Victimological perspectives
  • Ethical considerations
  • Research methods
    • Data collection
    • Analysis
      • Positioning analysis
      • Narrative discourse modes in thought and speech representation
      • Unsaid and negations
  • Analysis
    • Child abuse
    • Gang rape
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Note
  • References
References (37)
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Cited by one other publication

ILOVAN, Oana-Ramona, Claudia-Florentina DOBRE, Vasile ZOTIC & Adinel-Ciprian DINCĂ
2025. Storytelling and Agency: Place Attachment Bridging Past, Present and Future in Romanian Deportees’ Memories. Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning 16:1 ► pp. 49 ff. DOI logo

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