victims on trial.
We speak of secondary victimization when a person who has suffered online or offline violence—which we can define as “primary”—is forced to relive the trauma or suffer further violence from other individuals.
Secondary victimization is widespread: it can occur in social settings, in newspapers, during the reporting process to law enforcement, or when contacting social services or hospitals. But not only that. It can also occur during judicial processes in civil, criminal, or juvenile courts, and even at the conclusion of legal proceedings.
The phenomenon of secondary victimization is often linked to the so-called “Victim Blaming”, that is, the widespread tendency to blame the victim by alleging some contributory negligence, the widespread “they were asking for it”.
Both phenomena are very common in cases of nonconsensual dissemination of intimate material, as the victim is held responsible for putting themselves in a position to suffer such violence. This consideration is both empathetic and morally flawed, and erroneous, since, for example, many cases of IBSA (Image-Based Sexual Abuse) are not aware of the production of such material.