What counts in 'what happened?': An examination of the use of 'experience' in feminist legal analyses of sexual assault

This thesis suggests feminist legal theorising and political action has a misplaced point of entry in terms of its analyses of reported feelings among rape complainants' of disempowerment and domination within the legal setting. Rather than attributable to the limiting and manipulative aspects of "courtroom talk," it is suggested the harm of secondary victimisation occurs at a point much earlier than the law's intervention, where women attempt to define and interpret the events and relationships of their lives with words, terms, and meanings which are not their own.; Through an examination of the use of 'experience' in both feminist theory and evidence law, it is suggested that both feminism and law contribute to the construction of a dominant discourse of sexual assault and its victimisation, whereby women are effectively excluded from participating in the definition and interpretation of their own 'experiences.' This analysis of 'experience' explores the implicit claim made within feminism and law about its use and value as a reliable source of true knowledge. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...