- Law constructs a binary between 'normal trauma' and 'abnormal diagnosis' when mental health evidence appears in sexual violence cases.
- This binary discursively marginalises survivors whose psychiatric diagnoses challenge credibility and legal recognition.
- Reforms must centre people identifying with psychiatric diagnoses within feminist anti-sexual violence politics.
Fem Leg Stud. 2026;34(2):187-205. doi: 10.1007/s10691-025-09588-x. Epub 2025 Nov 6.
ABSTRACT
This paper interrogates the discursive construction of the relationship between sexual violence and ‘mental health’ in case law and legal policies from England and Wales. It shows that the law invariably enacts a binary discursive construction of those who have experienced sexual violence where mental health evidence is introduced. Individuals are constructed as either experiencing ‘normal trauma’ or an ‘abnormal diagnosis’. These findings are contextualised within recent feminist legal reforms to the treatment of mental health evidence in sexual violence cases, and emphasise the pressing need to centre the experiences of those who identify with psychiatric diagnoses in feminist anti-sexual violence politics.
PMID:42434476 | PMC:PMC13350113 | DOI:10.1007/s10691-025-09588-x
Share Evidence Blueprint
Save to Google Notes
Search Google Scholar
Save as PDF
⭐ My Revision List
