Engl. transl.: "If it is true, then it is your own fault": Recurring stereotypes about sexual violence in an Estonian children’s online forum

This article provides an overview of how children and young people who are victims of sexual violence seek help and support from online forums, and the reactions and responses following such posts. Also, we look at how rape myths and stereotypes affect both the victims’ and respondents’ attitudes towards sexual violence, victim-blaming, and help-seeking. By combining discursive psychological methodology with qualitative thematic analysis, we were able to distinguish six dominant interpretative repertoires, three dominant repertoires from the victims’ posts (trying to start a dialogue, self-blaming, and uncertainty on recognizing intimate partner rape) and three from respondents’ reactions (victim-blaming, justifying the perpetrator, and the stereotype of the "ideal victim"). This study highlighted how strong rape myths and stereotypes are, and how these are reproduced and reinforced through small everyday interactions over and over again.

"For children and young people in our sample, the observed internet forum was mainly a starting point to gain courage and guidance for seeking help offline (e.g., telling one’s mother or reporting abuse to the police)." (Eelmaa & Murumaa-Mengel, 2020, pp. 60-61). "Victims often attributed behavioural selfblame to themselves." (Eelmaa & Murumaa-Mengel, 2020, p. 61). "The most common reaction to victims’ posts was victim-blaming, mainly behavioural blaming associated with clothing, alcohol consumption, and (not) resisting the abuse/violence." (Eelmaa & Murumaa-Mengel, 2020, p. 61). "When children disclose sexual abuse, the reactions of others are critical determinants of whether the child gets the needed help and support or is silenced." (Eelmaa & Murumaa-Mengel, 2020, p. 61).