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Rape is a traumatic experience that affects the victim (survivor) in a physical, psychological, and sociological way. Even though the effects and aftermath of rape differ among victims, individuals tend to suffer from similar issues found within these three categories. Long-term reactions may involve the development of coping mechanisms that will either benefit the victim, such as social support, or inhibit their recovery. [1] Seeking support and professional resources may assist the victim in numerous ways.
Common effects experienced by rape victims include: [2] [3]
Research on women in shelters has shown that women who experience both sexual and physical abuse from intimate partners are significantly more likely to have had sexually transmitted diseases. [16]
Most rape survivors experience a stronger psychological impact in the initial period after their assault; however, many survivors may experience long-lasting psychological harm. [17]
Survivors of rape may often have anxiety and fear directly following their attack. [18] According to a study on the reactions after rape by the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 96 percent of women said they were scared, shaking, or trembling a few hours after their attack. [19] After even more time passed, the previous symptoms decreased while the levels of depression, exhaustion, and restlessness increased. [17]
After an attack, rape survivors experience heightened anxiety and fear. According to Dean G. Kilpatrick, a distinguished psychologist, survivors of rape have high levels of anxiety and phobia-related anxiety. [19] This includes and is not limited to the following:
Some survivors of rape cope by attempting to have a lot of sex, even (or especially) in cases where they did not do this before the rape. [20]
Many survivors of rape have post-traumatic stress disorder. The National Victim Center and the Crime Victim's Research and Treatment Center released a report that found 31% of women who were raped develop PTSD at some point in their lives following their attack. [17] The same study estimated 3.8 million American women would have rape-related PTSD, and 1.3 million women have rape-induced PTSD. [17]
A study found that women who were raped were more depressed than women who were not. The study measured the level of depression using the Beck Depression Inventory test, and concluded that forty-five percent of the women assessed in the study were moderately or severely depressed. [19]
Self-blame is among the most common of both short- and long-term effects and functions as an avoidance coping skill that inhibits the healing process and can often be remedied by a cognitive therapy technique known as cognitive restructuring.
There are two main types of self-blame: behavioral self-blame (undeserved blame based on actions) and characterological self-blame (undeserved blame based on character). Survivors who experience behavioral self-blame feel that they should have done something differently, and therefore feel at fault. Survivors who experience characterological self-blame feel there is something inherently wrong with them which has caused them to deserve to be assaulted.
A leading researcher on the psychological causes and effects of shame, June Tangney, lists five ways shame can be destructive: [21]
Tangney notes the link of shame and anger. "In day-to-day life, when people are shamed and angry they tend to be motivated to get back at a person and get revenge."
In addition, shame is connected to psychological problems – such as eating disorders, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders as well as problematic moral behavior. In one study over several years, shame-prone children were also prone to substance abuse, earlier sexual activity, less safe sexual activity, and involvement with the criminal justice system. [21]
Behavioral self-blame is associated with feelings of guilt within the survivor. While the belief that one had control during the assault (past control) is associated with greater psychological distress, the belief that one has more control during the recovery process (present control) is associated with less distress, less withdrawal, and more cognitive reprocessing. [22] This need for control stems from the just-world belief, which implies that people get what they deserve and the world has a certain order of things that individuals are able to control. This control reassures them that this event will not happen again. [23]
Counseling responses found helpful in reducing self-blame are supportive responses, psychoeducational responses (learning about rape trauma syndrome) and those responses addressing the issue of blame. [24] A helpful type of therapy for self-blame is cognitive restructuring or cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive reprocessing is the process of taking the facts and forming a logical conclusion from them that is less influenced by shame or guilt. [25] Most rape survivors cannot be reassured enough that what happened to them is "not their fault." This helps them fight through shame and feel safe, secure, and grieve in a healthy way. In most cases, a length of time, and often therapy, is necessary to allow the survivor and people close to the survivor to process and heal. [26]
In a study about the impacts of rape of males, distinguished scholars Jayne Walker, John Archer, and Michelle Davies found that after their attack, male survivors had long-term depression, anxiety, anger, confusion about their masculinity, confusion about their sexuality, and grief. Ninety-seven percent of men reported being depressed after their attack. [27] As well as this, approximately ninety-three percent of men report feelings of anxiety. [27] Along with depression, the most commonly reported reaction is anger. Ninety-five percent of male survivors reported having fantasies of revenge or retaliation. [27] Male survivors reported buying weapons to kill their assailants. Men also reported experiencing long-term crises with their sexual orientation and their masculinity. [27] The male victims of rape felt powerless because they believed they lost their male pride and dignity. Many men reported grieving the loss of self-respect and self-worth. Ninety percent of male survivors lost respect for themselves because of their assault. [27]
Survivors of rape are more likely to attempt or commit suicide. [28] [29] [30] The association remains, even after controlling for sex, age, education, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and the presence of psychiatric disorders. [31] [32] [33] The experience of being raped can lead to suicidal behavior as early as adolescence. In Ethiopia, 6% of raped schoolgirls reported having attempted suicide. They also feel embarrassed to talk about what had happened to them. [7] A study of adolescents in Brazil found prior sexual abuse to be a leading factor predicting several health risk behaviours, including suicidal thoughts and attempts. [34]
After a sexual assault, victims are subjected to investigations and, in most cases, mistreatment. Victims undergo medical examinations and are interviewed by police. During the criminal trial, victims suffer a loss of privacy and their credibility may be challenged. Sexual assault victims may also experience secondary victimization and victim blaming including, slut-shaming and cyberbullying. During criminal proceedings, publication bans and rape shield laws operate to protect victims from excessive public scrutiny.
Rape is especially stigmatizing in cultures with strong customs and taboos regarding sex and sexuality. For example, a rape victim (especially one who was previously a virgin) may be viewed by society as being "damaged." Victims in these cultures may suffer isolation, be disowned by friends and family, be prohibited from marrying, be divorced if already married, or even killed. This phenomenon is known as secondary victimization. [35] While society targets secondary victimization mainly towards women, male victims can also feel shameful, or experience a loss of purity. [36]
Secondary victimization is the re-traumatization of the sexual assault, abuse, or rape victim through the responses of individuals and institutions. Types of secondary victimization include victim blaming and inappropriate post-assault behavior or language by medical personnel or other organizations with which the victim has contact. [37] Secondary victimization is especially common in cases of drug-facilitated, acquaintance, and statutory rape.
The term victim blaming refers to holding the victim of a crime to be responsible for that crime, either in whole or in part. In the context of rape, it refers to the attitude that certain victim behaviors (such as flirting or wearing sexually provocative clothing) may have encouraged the assault. This can cause the victim to believe the crime was indeed their fault. Rapists are known to use victim blaming as their primary psychological disconnect from their crime(s) and in some cases it has led to their conviction. [38] Female rape victims receive more blame when they exhibit behavior which breaks the gender roles of society. Society uses this behavior as a justification for the rape. Similarly, blame placed on female rape victims often depends on the victim's attractiveness and respectability. While such behavior has no justified correlation to an attack, it can be used in victim blaming. A "rape supportive" society refers to when perpetrators are perceived as justified for raping. [36] Male victims are more often blamed by society for their rape due to weakness or emasculation. The lack of support and community for male rape victims is furthered by the lack of attention given to sexual assaults of males by society. [39]
It has been proposed that one cause of victim blaming is the just world hypothesis . People who believe that the world is intrinsically fair may find it difficult or impossible to accept a situation in which a person is badly hurt for no reason. This leads to a sense that victims must have done something to deserve their fate. Another theory entails the psychological need to protect one's own sense of invulnerability, which can inspire people to believe that rape only happens to those who provoke the assault. Believers use this as a way to feel safer: If one avoids the behaviours of the past victims, one will be less vulnerable. A global survey of attitudes toward sexual violence by the Global Forum for Health Research shows that victim-blaming concepts are at least partially accepted in many countries.
Victim blame can also be a result of popular media's use of sexual objectification. Sexual objectification is reducing an individual's existence to that of a sexual object. This involves dehumanization. [40] A study conducted in Britain found that women who are objectified based on the clothes that they wear and what the media says about them, the more likely they would be to experience victim-blame after a sexual assault. [41] Another study that investigated a large group of college students to see medias contribution to sexual objectification and its effects on victim-blaming, found that the more a person is exposed to media content that sexualizes women's bodies the more likely they are to participate in rape blame. [42]
It has also been proposed by Roxane Agnew-Davies, a clinical psychologist and an expert on the effects of sexual violence, that victim-blaming correlates with fear. "It is not surprising when so many rape victims blame themselves. Female jurors can look at the woman in the witness stand and decide she has done something 'wrong' such as flirting or having a drink with the defendant. She can therefore reassure herself that rape won't happen to her as long as she does nothing similar." [43]
According to a multitude of studies, heterosexual men are the most likely to participate in victim-blaming. [44] Men tend to blame other men for their own sexual assaults. They also tend to blame individuals who do not adhere to gender norms, such as crossdressers, transgender men, and gay men. [45]
Many of the countries in which victim blaming is more common are those in which there is a significant social divide between the freedoms and status afforded to men and women.
Some individuals have found that reporting their assault assisted them in their recovery process. [46] Contacting their local police department, visiting a medical center, and/or calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline are several options that survivors may consider while seeking justice.
Even so, only a small percentage of survivors decide to report their rape. [47] Rape victims are less likely to report their sexual assault than simple assault victims. Between 2006 and 2010, it is estimated that 211,200 rapes or sexual assaults were unreported to police each year. [48] Factors that may influence a rape reporting decision include gender, age, [49] minority status, perceived outcomes, and social expectations. [47] Furthermore, a rape in which the survivor knows the perpetrator is less likely to be reported than one committed by a stranger. The absence of physical injuries and involvement of drugs and/or alcohol also contributes to the decrease in reports. [50] Specifically, female rape victims are more likely to report their cases when they feel more victimized due to serious bodily injuries. Female rape victims are less likely to report cases in which the perpetrator is a relative or acquaintance. Male rape victims may be hesitant to report rapes due to the stigma surrounding male rape, which can cause humiliation or fear of emasculation. [51]
Survivors who do not decide to report their rape to law enforcement are still eligible to receive a sexual assault forensic exam, also known as a rape kit. They are also still encouraged to seek support from their loved ones and/or a professional psychologist. [46]
The process of recovering from a rape differentiates among survivors for their own individual reasons. The nature of the attack, how survivors choose to cope with their trauma, and social influences are a few of the many variables that impact the healing process. [52] Even so, recovery generally consists of three main themes: reaching out, reframing the rape, and redefining the self. Professional treatment may be needed to help assist with properly accomplishing these three factors. [53] Cognitive Processing Therapy has been found to result in a decrease or remission of post trauma symptoms in survivors and to help them regain a sense of control. [52] Due to its complexity, advancing through the healing process requires patience and persistence. In addition, meditation, yoga, exercise, rhythmic movement, and socialization may also provide elements of relief for survivors. [54] Furthermore, support groups provide individuals with an opportunity to connect with other survivors and serve as a constant reminder that they are not alone.
Victimology is the study of victimization, including the psychological effects on victims, the relationship between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice system—that is, the police and courts, and corrections officials—and the connections between victims and other social groups and institutions, such as the media, businesses, and social movements.
Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner.
Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now commonly criminalized and has been subject to more discussion than in the past.
Psychological abuse, often known as emotional abuse or psychological violence, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, clinical depression or post-traumatic stress disorder amongst other psychological problems.
Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted sexual act—or attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion—or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of their relationship to the victim. This includes forced engagement in sexual acts, attempted or completed, and may be physical, psychological, or verbal. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.
Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as the greater tendency to blame victims of rape than victims of robbery if victims and perpetrators knew each other prior to the commission of the crime. The Gay Panic Defense has also been used to justify violence against LGBT people.
Rape culture is a setting, as described by some sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to that setting's attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut-shaming, sexual objectification, trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, refusing to acknowledge the harm caused by sexual violence, or some combination of these. It has been used to describe and explain behavior within social groups, including prison rape and in conflict areas where war rape is used as psychological warfare. Entire societies have been alleged to be rape cultures.
Sex is correlated with the prevalence of certain mental disorders, including depression, anxiety and somatic complaints. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with major depression, while men are more likely to be diagnosed with substance abuse and antisocial personality disorder. There are no marked gender differences in the diagnosis rates of disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Men are at risk to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to past violent experiences such as accidents, wars and witnessing death, and women are diagnosed with PTSD at higher rates due to experiences with sexual assault, rape and child sexual abuse. Nonbinary or genderqueer identification describes people who do not identify as either male or female. People who identify as nonbinary or gender queer show increased risk for depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. People who identify as transgender demonstrate increased risk for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majority of people convicted being men; however, since the broadening of the definition of rape in 2012 by the FBI, more attention is being given to male rape, including females raping males.
Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. Sexual abuse is a term used for a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser. Live streaming sexual abuse involves trafficking and coerced sexual acts, and/or rape, in real time on webcam.
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability, or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes casually inaccurately used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.
Rape trauma syndrome (RTS) is the psychological trauma experienced by a rape survivor that includes disruptions to normal physical, emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal behavior. The theory was first described by nurse Ann Wolbert Burgess and sociologist Lynda Lytle Holmstrom in 1974.
As defined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, military sexual trauma (MST) are experiences of sexual assault, or repeated threatening sexual harassment that occurred while a person was in the United States Armed Forces.
Sexual violence refers to a range of completed or attempted sexual acts in which the affected party does not or is unable to consent. Theories on the causes of sexual violence are numerous and have come out of many different disciplines, such as women's studies, public health, and criminal justice. Proposed causes include military conquest, socioeconomics, anger, power, sadism, traits, ethical standards, laws, and evolutionary pressures. Most of the research on the causes of sexual violence has focused on male offenders.
Victimisation is the state or process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology.
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child, indecent exposure, child grooming, and child sexual exploitation, such as using a child to produce child pornography.
Victimization refers to a person being made into a victim by someone else and can take on psychological as well as physical forms, both of which are damaging to victims. Forms of victimization include bullying or peer victimization, physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, robbery, and assault. Some of these forms of victimization are commonly associated with certain populations, but they can happen to others as well. For example, bullying or peer victimization is most commonly studied in children and adolescents but also takes place between adults. Although anyone may be victimized, particular groups may be more susceptible to certain types of victimization and as a result to the symptoms and consequences that follow. Individuals respond to victimization in a wide variety of ways, so noticeable symptoms of victimization will vary from person to person. These symptoms may take on several different forms, be associated with specific forms of victimization, and be moderated by individual characteristics of the victim and/or experiences after victimization.
Campus sexual assault is the sexual assault, including rape, of a student while attending an institution of higher learning, such as a college or university. The victims of such assaults are more likely to be female, but any gender can be victimized. Estimates of sexual assault, which vary based on definitions and methodology, generally find that somewhere between 19–27% of college women and 6–8% of college men are sexually assaulted during their time in college.
Sexual assault of LGBT people, also known as sexual and gender minorities (SGM), is a form of violence that occurs within the LGBT community. While sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence can occur in all forms of relationships, it is found that sexual minorities experience it at rates that are equal to or higher than their heterosexual counterparts. There is a lack of research on this specific problem for the LGBT population as a whole, but there does exist a substantial amount of research on college LGBT students who have experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment.
Secondary victimisation refers to further victim-blaming from criminal justice authorities following a report of an original victimisation.
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