First Advisor
Julie Sriken, Ph.D.
Thesis Committee Member(s)
Amy Schreier, Ph.D.
Reader
Mark Basham, Ph.D.
College
Regis College
Degree Name
BAS
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Number of Pages
50 pages
Abstract
This thesis analyzes the way the social construction of victimization and perpetration of violence against women impacts the lived experiences of victimized women in the United States. Its discussion expands upon the constraints of frames about interpersonal abuse which focus on stranger-perpetrated victimization and leave victim-survivors' lived experiences with acquaintances in a grey area. Specifically, it explores the framing of victimization risks in the “Stranger Danger” campaign, which highlights strangers as solitary figures to fear, warns against independent socialization, and omits the very real potential for victimization by someone known. In this manner, Stranger Danger functions as a hermeneutical injustice, which leaves victimized women in early adulthood ill-equipped to make sense of their experiences of victimization by someone known. When women are warned for much of their young lives to fear strangers, victimization by an acquaintance or trusted companion can be astonishing, calamitous, and difficult to contextualize. The findings of this analysis may be used to better inform the development of responsive therapies and violence prevention education programming. Informed by perspectives from personal experience and the fields of sociology, feminist philosophy, feminist criminology, and psychology, this thesis presents an analysis of and proposes modifications for the seemingly innocent trend of misinformation that results from the use of Stranger Danger.
Date of Award
Spring 2025
Location (Creation)
Denver, Colo.
Copyright
© Aleena Gillette
Rights Statement
All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.
Recommended Citation
Gillette, Aleena, "THE DANGER ISN’T STRANGERS: EXPLORING INJUSTICES IN THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF WOMEN’S VICTIMIZATION EXPERIENCES" (2025). Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection). 1151.
https://epublications.regis.edu/theses/1151
Included in
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Legal Studies Commons, Philosophy Commons, Psychology Commons, Sociology Commons
