AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

12
The Epistemology of My Ongoing
Research “Feminist Representations
of Rape and Victimization: The Case
of Sexto Sentido in Nicaragua”
STEFANIA DONZELLI
INTRODUCTION
In this essay I will reflect on the epistemology of my ongoing research
“Feminist Representations of Rape and Victimization: The Case of Sexto
Sentido in Nicaragua”. More specifically, once my research is introduced,
with special attention to my core assumptions, I will reflect on how my
claims on reality are supported by my epistemological position. I will also
present some criticisms in this investigation and I will defend my position.
Finally some methodological considerations will be included and
linked to the epistemology adopted in the research.
ON THE RESEARCH
Social Problem and Assumptions about Reality
When a rape takes place, survivors may face a consequent violent experience,
caused by their victimization. The uniqueness of every person and
the singularity of any socio-historical context make impossible any generalization
around victimization. Each one’s particular way of looking at
reality, constructed throughout personal and not repeatable experiences
contextualised in specific situations, brings people to elaborate different
reactions to violence. However, once the impossibility of establishing
universal knowledge about something so personal and particular is recognized,
it is still possible to state that survivors may go through different
processes of victimization after a rape. For example, survivors may feel a
137