Rape Victim Essay

accused and, in reality, it is [the victim] who must prove [their] good reputation, [their] mental soundness, and [their] impeccable propriety” (215). This is still true in today 's day and age. Victims of rape still have to decide if they are going to report their rapes or not. They are forced to deal with the many traumatic side effects. Some of those side effects are physical, some are emotional and some are a chaotic combination of both. Also the victims of rape have to handle the sometimes crippling stigmas associated with being a victim of rape,including being blamed for their own assault. A rape stigma as defined in the Encyclopedia of Rape, “ is the negative perception of a rape survivor’s reputation, manifested in insinuations or

The three most obvious stigmas are: self stigma, family stigma, and social stigma. Self stigmas are where the victims tend to blame themselves for the crime committed against them. These come with deep emotional conditions that have many tragic secondary consequences on the victim 's self esteem and readiness to have regular intimate interactions. The second generally prevailing stigma is the family stigma. Family stigmas are where the family members are regularly contentious and unsympathetic in their attitude towards their victimized relatives. The family “often blames or force(s) the victim to keep silent” (Smith 243). The third type of recurring stigma is the social stigma. Social stigmas are where the reputation of a rape victim is repeatedly admonished and picked apart. This is where the victims are presumed to have warranted or solicited the actions that contributed to the rape. Social stigma is victim blaming and victim shaming. Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially responsible for the harm that came upon them. The study of victimology seeks to alleviate the perception of victims as responsible. There is a greater tendency to blame victims of rape than victims of robbery in cases where victims and perpetrators know one another. Teen and adult victims often are asked demeaning and dismissive questions regarding their role in being targeted unlike younger victims are seen as the injured party. Many times the rights of the accused are protected more vigorously than those of their