In the United States, 33% of women and 25% of men experience sexual
violence (CDC, 2019). The recent rise in survivor empowerment movements
like #MeToo underlines sexual violence as a systemic issue and has begun to
shift out-group attitudes in support of survivors (Jackson, 2018). The
present research examines whether exposure to positive group identity
narratives from sexual violence survivors (e.g., personal stories connected
to empowerment movements) can increase institutional support intentions for
survivors collectively (e.g., policy change). In this experiment,
perspective-taking
of sexual violence survivors was held constant, and the study manipulated
positive exposure to survivor group identities. Participants consisted of
177 undergraduate students (146 females, Mage = 20.97 years, SD = 3.44),
31% of whom (n = 55) identified as survivors of sexual violence. We
expected that those exposed to the positive group identity would report
increased empathy for the survivor community, more positive affect, and
stronger support for policies that benefit survivors. Implications will
highlight the importance of survivor empowerment movements as a vessel for
social change efforts.