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Forgiving and not forgiving as processes of sense-making among victims/survivors of domestic and sexual abuse

Abbott, Owen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2285-3672 and Rowlands, James 2026. Forgiving and not forgiving as processes of sense-making among victims/survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. Violence Against Women 10.1177/10778012261458794

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Abstract

Most research into forgiveness in the contexts of domestic and sexual abuse involves quantitative studies of the benefits or risks of forgiveness for victims/survivors. This paradigm constructs forgiveness as an achieved event, largely overlooking victims/survivors’ forgiveness experiences. Furthermore, existing research scarcely addresses not forgiving among victims/survivors. This article shows both forgiving and not forgiving are utilized in processes of sense-making by victims/survivors. We argue that forgiving and not forgiving in this context should be understood not simply as an achieved event or specific form of experience, but rather as socially available vocabularies through which ongoing processes of sense-making are channeled.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Published Online
Status: In Press
Schools: Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISSN: 1077-8012
Funders: Leverhulme Trust
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 17 June 2026
Date of Acceptance: 1 June 2026
Last Modified: 18 Jun 2026 08:15
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187616

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