1.2 Victim or Survivor?

It’s up to the individuals themselves to determine when the shift from victim to survivor occurs. Some people feel they are survivors from the moment they escape from the assailant, and they may prefer the term survivor to be used immediately.

Other individuals use the term survivor to signify that they have made progress regaining control of their lives and recovering from the experience. These individuals may resent being called survivors too soon and prefer that advocates recognize that they were victimized because, in the early stages, they feel like victims and not survivors.

In this material, we use the term survivor because this emphasizes the survivor-centered approach of advocacy as well as the agency and power of the survivor of sexual assault.