Thesis advisor: Shanta Pandey / Thesis advisor: Jessica Shaw / Sexual violence remains one of the most pervasive and underreported crimes in modern society. Sexual violence largely impacts women and people with other marginalized identities and has historical origins as a tool for domination and control. Although, sexual assault and rape are common occurrences, survivors of sexual assault and rape do not report their crime, and many choose not to seek help. One reason offered in sexual violence literature as an explanation for low rates of reporting and resource-seeking is attributed to the “hidden rape” victim phenomenon. More than half of survivors do not acknowledge or label their experience as a sexual assault or rape, even though their experience meets the legal definition of rape. While many reasons may influence survivors to call their experience a rape or sexual assault, such as their relationship to the person who sexually assaulted them, substance use, or prior sexual encounters with the person who sexually assaulted them, there remains much to be explored about how survivors come to understand and label their assault. Especially, as research demonstrates that unacknowledged rape is directly correlated with non-reporting and resource-seeking decisions. This study examined the influences of internalized oppression and conscientization on how survivors label and understand their experience with sexual violence, and how those influences may affect post-assault resource-seeking decisions. This study is a secondary qualitative analysis of 22 semi-structured interviews collected between the years of 2018-2019 in a Northeast region of the U.S that focused on the experience of adolescent sexual assault. I examined the process of labeling a sexual assault among survivors and how their interactions with others in the social world informs that labeling process. Boejie’s constant comparative analytical method (CCM) for analyzing qualitative interviews, was used for code and category generation with the intent of theme identification. Findings from this study outlined types of oppressive and anti-oppressive messages that informs manifestations of internalized oppression and the conscientization process that attenuates it among sexual assault survivors. Additionally, as internalized oppression and conscientization are psychological states that necessitate cultivation this study highlights the reinforcing and disruptive experiences that allowed for its continued indoctrination. Finally, this study uplifts the multiplicative experiences among sexual assault survivors with marginalized identities. Insights from this study provide new understandings of how internalized oppression and conscientization manifest among sexual assault survivors. Furthermore, the study highlights the impact these intrapsychic phenomena have on post-assault processing and decision-making. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

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Internalized oppression is one of the conceptual foundations of social justice education. Though the literature on internalized oppression is rich with descriptive data, little theory has been developed in this area. To date, the field of Social Justice Education has been limited by this oversight. Drawing upon the work of theorists who have examined this topic across a variety of social identities, this study presents a generalizable framework for understanding and analyzing internalized oppression. More specifically, this research focuses on the internalized oppression of subordinant groups, also known as internalized subordination. The framework presented within this study identifies internalized oppression as having three core components or "defining elements": process, state, and action. It is intended to be used as a foundation and starting point for, rather than in lieu of, the examination of the internalized oppression specific to particular social identities. Further, this framework is intended to benefit both scholars and practitioners of social justice and will aide in the development of methodologies and pedagogies aimed at interrupting internalized oppression and promoting liberatory consciousness.

AAMSM (African American men who have sex with men) endure homophobia and racism in their political realities because of their identity. How do multiple oppressions impact the experiences of AAMSM participating within Black churches? Despite the Black church's legacy for liberating African Americans, AAMSM feel demonized and alienated while enduring religion-based homophobia espoused within many Black churches. In the church, AAMSM are pushed further down the hierarchy of oppression and privilege. In response to these observations, this thesis employs a sexual discourse of resistance. I engage this discourse with a literature review in order to discover links between homophobia and AAMSM in an interdisciplinary manner. Jungian psychology is then utilized to interpret internalized oppression. This leads to a discussion of social and religious justice for AAMSM in the Black church through the lens of liberation theology. While the oppressed have become oppressors within the Black church as regards AAMSM, liberation theology affirms all of humanity. Liberation theology provides a message of love for AAMSM and a source of Christian ethics for the Black church.

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