(Digital) Justice from the Victim’s Perspective

Feminist scholars and researchers have argued for the importance of understanding and theorising justice from the perspective of victim-survivors of sexual violence (Herman, Violence Against Women 11(5):571–602. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801205274450 , 2005 (The title of this chapter is a reference to Herman’s (2005) article ‘Justice from the Victim’s Perspective’, published in Violence against women, which is drawn upon throughout this book); Julich, Theor Criminol 10(1):125–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480606059988 , 2006). When victim-survivor’s perspectives are centred in theorisations of justice, it tends to reveal that they want similar things from justice—for example, a voice, control, accountability, and to be heard (McGlynn et al, J Law Soc 39(2):213–240, 2012). This chapter expands upon these theorisations of justice by utilising qualitative interview data and posts from an online community to examine what participants thought about ‘justice’ in digital space. Although many participants did not necessarily connect their online disclosures to their broader understanding of what ‘justice’ meant, many were able to see how their disclosures contributed to social justice and broader societal change.