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6 psychological effects of rape
Rape and sexual violence
6 psychological effects of rape
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Sexual violence, also known as molestation, is the undesired enforcement of sexual behavior on one person by another person. Women are most known for being associated with sexual violence for a long time (Beneke, 2005). A very fast growing form of sexual violence is rape (Beneke, 2005). Rape is the act of intercourse that is forced upon a woman by means of violence. Rape is such a rapid growing form. It is said that if the current act of rape continues, around one in four women will be sexually molested in her lifetime (Beneke, 2005). Rape can have many harmful factors after one has been assaulted. The effects of rape can permanently damage a person. Damage can be both physical and psychologically. Our bodies, when put in stressful situations, exert a lot of energy to help us manage the situation. A traumatic event, such as rape, takes a lot of time for a person to re-adjust (RAINN, 2005). Some common psychological effects of rape consist of some of the following: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and disassociation (RAINN, 2005). Post-traumatic stress disorder results after a person has been in a terrifying event. Post-traumatic stress can lead to depression. Depression can lead one to believe he or she is worthless and what had happened is the fault of him or her. After depression, one may choose to disassociate themselves from society (RAINN, 2005). Physical effects and emotional effects of rape can also be very harmful. After one has been raped, their body has gone through a lot. Some effects that can physically be felt are soreness, bruising, or bleeding (RAINN, 2005). In some cases pregnancy can be the result of rape. An estimated 5% of rape cases end with a pregnancy (RAINN, 2005). Sometimes, external physical ef... ... middle of paper ... ...a woman scarred. Women may not leave for other reasons, such as believing the abuser will change economic hardships, and a sense of shame (Benokraitis, 2012). Any form of violence, within the family or out of the family is always wrong. Men and women should learn to respect one another physically, mentally, or sexually. One should always be alert, aware, and assertive. For those who have been a victim of sexual violence, there ways to get help. One may go to counseling or be a growing part of different programs that focus on different forms of violence, such as: marital rape, rape, and family (domestic violence). Some programs that will help a victim of rape are: Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), Safe Horizon, and Rape Crisis. For issues of family violence, or domestic violence, some programs include: Women in distress, Safe Horizon, or a Hotline.
Right after the attack, individuals experience a sense of shock, which has a powerful effect on their emotions and reactions. They go in an emotional state from being confused as they are unable to recognize and accept on what just happened. Victims will ask themselves “why me?”, and find that it will takes a lot of time to re-adjust after. The physical, mental, and spiritual pain can pervade the everyday lives of the survivors. Many college students that go through short- term effects, can prolong into long-term, depending how affective the sexual assault was. Some of these individuals will develop depression, or even post-traumatic stress disorder. Victims may engage in heavy drinking or even abuse drugs to get over their overwhelming feelings, but that can just cause more issues for them in the future. Colleges should be more involved in helping out the survivors of rape. Getting a deep understanding on how difficult this experience is, there should be more help in guiding to heal each individuals path for the better. College initially puts a lot of pressure on students and this experience will only increase their anxiety and
90 percent of the victims of sexual assault are women and 10 percent are men, and nearly 99 percent of offenders in single-victim assaults are men (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2010). According to https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault, Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape. () Sexual Assault can happen to anyone, not just women it can happen to men and kids as well. Sexual Assault these days are a big trouble and it is not being addressed in good order, and it is
Women will continue to suffer from domestic violence unless there is some sort of intervention to help them. When dealing with this population, it is essential to create a safe environment where the woman can talk freely about the abuse without any retaliation from the abuser. When someone comes into a therapeutic session, everyone deserves to be treated with respect and care. This in turn will create a sense of hope that a different type of life can be possible. Also, knowing that there is a support system can help the woman begin the process of change. Despite this, the process of leaving the abusive partner is slow (Warshaw, n.d.)
Banyard, VL, Berkowitz, AD, Gidycz, CA, Katz, JT, Kuss, MP, Lonsway, KA, Schewe, PA, Ullman, SE, (2011) Rape prevention and risk reduction. Domestic violence article 18: 1 - 22
There are many problems rapes could cause besides the ones highlighted already. 35% of men report significant short-term or long-term impacts such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A few more would include anxiety, depression, fearfulness, or post-traumatic stress disorder. The thoughts of future occurrences would consume their thoughts as the use excessive precaution that could have a little effect would be taken. The Withdrawal from relationships or friendships and an increased sense of isolation as well as avoiding people or places that are related to the assault or abuse. Despite being the least disclosed crime, it cost the U.S annually more than any other crime.
The trauma of rape can lead to depression and can put victims in a horrible mental state of mind. Symptoms of depression can go unnoticed for long periods of time especially if the victims doesn’t speak out and tell someone. “Symptoms of depression are social withdrawnness, lack of interest in things the victim would normally enjoy, feelings of worthless unexplained irritability, and inability to sleep. After rape or sexual abuse, survivors often find their self-esteem suffers significantly”.(After silence. org) The way victims view themselves and others change significantly after being raped. They may lose their integrity and power to continue a balanced life.
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
“Examined reactions to rape by interviewing 27 female rape victims at least 1 yr after the assault and assessing their current functioning through such measures as the Beck Depression Inventory and Profile of Mood States. Victims were significantly more depressed and reported less pleasure in daily activities than 26 mat...
Rape is non-consensual sexual intercourse that a male performs against a woman whom he is neither married to or cohabiting with. The definition of rape changes by geographic location. In some countries a woman must prove she is pure in order to find the perpetrator guilty. Rape used to be more of a violation to the man than to the women. It was a violation of the man’s rights if his wife or girlfriend was raped. When a woman is raped her devotion to her family is questioned. Rape is a violent act, an act of possession, not a sexual act. The myth that men who rape women are sexually pathological has begun to be dispelled and replaced with an understanding that rape is an act of anger, power and control rather than lust.
Physical violence is the most visible form of abuse that is noticed in any form of abusive relationship. It ranges from pinching, to slapping, punching, kicking and hitting. The victims often have serious consequences like severed bruises, broken bones and such injuries have resulted in fatalities. Physical abuse is often the red flag that friends and family notice and this is also very often the final phase abuse can reach to. In the national sample of college students, it was found that 32% of the women have reported experiencing physical abuse from age 14 to college years (Smith, White, & Holland, 2003). The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health conducted a survey amongst 7000 high school students, they found that 10% (Halpern, Young, Waller, Martin, & Kupper, 2004) of young women have reported being pushed around by a romantic partner and 3% reported having something thrown at them. In 1997 South Carolina Youth Behavior Risk Survey 9.7% girls between grades 9 and 12 reported physical abuse in a dating relationship and 21.3% reported being sexually assaulted (Coker et al., 2000). Sexual abuse includes rape, attempted rape and coercive sex. All these terms point towards sexual relationships where the person does not give consent or
Sexual abuse is “The use of psychological abuse tactics to keep an intimate partner in a submissive position of power. Strategies include sexual degradation, non-contact unwanted sexual experience (e.g., being forced to watch pornography), and reproductive and sexual control,” (Bagwell-Gray, Messing, & Baldwin-White, 2015, p. 323). It is low in force, because non-physical control tactics are used, and it is low in invasiveness because no sexual penetration is involved. Sexual abuse is different than sexual coercion in that the perpetrator is not coercing sex but is rather controlling sex-related decision making. Some examples of sexually controlling acts are refusing to wear condoms, having sex outside the primary relationship, and birth control sabotage (Campbell & Soeken,
There are a large amount of symptoms that come from rape, some may have a change in personality and friends and other may choose to drop out of school. Rape can have an effect on people that can harm them for life and for some victims in order for them to get over an attack is if they know that their attacker is incarcerated and w...
Webster’s Dictionary describes rape as the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse. Rape is a crime in which most women cannot defend themselves. The fear of rape plagues every woman at some point or another in her life. The traumatic effects of rape vary from mild to severe, from psychological to physical. This paper will evaluate rape, as well as the effects it has on women, the theory behind male dominance and patriarchy, and differences in demographics.
“Victims can be men or women, yet women represent 95% of adult victims” (Campbell & Sims). Emotional and physical abuse includes insults, put downs, name calling, yelling, taking away self-worth, mind games, humiliation, and guilt. Isolation abuse includes controlling what she does, seed, wears, goes, jealousy, and limiting outside association. Blaming and denying basically shifts the responsibility to the victim. The abusers usually use the children for the victim to stay, abusers make victims of abuse feel guilty about the children as well as threatening the victim to take the children away. Economic and financial abuse is basically controlling finances, preventing the victim to work or to choose a career is also abuse. Threatening to leave or commit suicide is also another way that abusers use to keep victims under their restrictions. Some characteristics that victims of domestic violence choose to overlook includes extreme jealousy, alcohol and drug use, anger, isolates victims from friends and family, and controlling
That single four-letter word, 'Rape' has changed my life forever. It has changed my family's lives and everyone and anyone who comes in contact with me. I am not the "Kim" that existed before. As I journey through recovery I am evolving and changing into the survivor not the victim I was the day or week or month before. I lived in a cloud of masked pain and numbness until I decided I wanted my life back. I refused to allow any more time lost.