This paper will explore the meanings of rape and sexual violence in shaping gender relations, drawing on stories of victims of intimate partner violence. Rape and sexual abuse in and as part of violence in intimate relations is highly gendered. Although it is increasingly recognized that not only heterosexual women can be raped and are subjected to intimate partner violence, and further that some persons and some groups are more exposed to sexual violence and abuse, we will argue, supported by our own and other research, that sexual violence in intimate relations remains a paradigmatic case of men’s violations of women in heterosexual relationships. How to analyse gendered power dynamics of rape and sexual abuse as part of IPV without silencing other groups’ experiences? In this paper, we are exploring the intersections of sexual violence in intimate relations as a gendered phenomenon and the production of institutionalized and cultural patterns of gender inequality. We will analyse stories of victims of violence, drawing on and combining theories of rape, victimization and embodiment, as well as theories of heteronormativity, love and gendered dynamics in heterosexual relationships.

Margunn Bjørnholt
Research professor, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies,
PhD gender studies, Mag.Art. Sociology.
Recent publication: Bjørnholt, Margunn and Hjemdal, Ole Kristian (2018). Measuring violence, mainstreaming gender; does adding harm make a difference? Journal of Gender-Based Violence

Hannah Helseth, Senior researcher, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, PhD Sociology, editor Nytt norsk tidsskrift. Recent publication: coauthored With Anja Sletteland (2018) Det jeg skulle sagt. Håndbok mot seksuell trakassering. [What I should have said. Handbook against sexual harassment]Manifest forlag.

Hannah Helseth, PhD
Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies
hannahhelseth@gmail.com