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Narratives, Credibility and Adversarial Justice in English and Welsh Rape Trials

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Rape Narratives in Motion

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture ((PSCMC))

Abstract

Sexual violence is at a point of unprecedented visibility in many countries, leading to public debate about whether victim-survivor’s voices can and should be believed. Credibility is about perceptions of both the “story” being told and the “story-teller” themselves, so this chapter examines how narratives about the “story-teller” enable juries to dismiss rape allegations in English and Welsh trials. It will draw on court observation data to argue that lawyers scaffold their critiques of the witness using master narratives about the perceived credibility of people from different social categories. These narratives are intersectional in nature, making it essential that rape literature acknowledge the experiences of different witnesses moving forward.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK

    Olivia Smith

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  1. Olivia Smith
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Correspondence to Olivia Smith .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Ulrika Andersson

  2. Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

    Monika Edgren

  3. Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Lena Karlsson

  4. Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Gabriella Nilsson

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Smith, O. (2019). Narratives, Credibility and Adversarial Justice in English and Welsh Rape Trials. In: Andersson, U., Edgren, M., Karlsson, L., Nilsson, G. (eds) Rape Narratives in Motion. Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13852-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13852-3_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13851-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13852-3

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