Victimology: Jadm 330 - Rape: A Violent Crime

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- PTSD – most victims have stress after being raped.

- Painful intercourse – it is hard for a victim to have willing intercourse after being raped and it cause them to not have the ability to have a healthy relationship.

- STD’s – many victims get some type of sexually transmitted disease from their rapist.

- Pregnancy – some victims get pregnant from rape and then they have to choose to get the child which will remind them of the rape or to get rid of the child which gives mental problems all in itself.

- Court – it is hard for the victim to face their rapist and tell what was done to them in court because the defense attorney will try and make them think it was their fault for getting raped.

- Mental and physical disorders – depression, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, and flashbacks of the crime.

- Self-blame – many victims will blame themselves by saying they did something to cause it.

Challenges are hard to overcome when one has been raped, so to talk with others about what has happened may make you understand that you are not alone. To stand up in court and tell what was done and put the person responsible behind bars and away from any other that could have become their next victim would have to be rewarding in its own way. To make sure that it is not done to another is a challenge that only the prier victim can keep from happening. (Potts, 2011) (Shannon, 2007).

Conclusion

Rape is a violent and serious crime. To be a rape victim is something that one cannot say they understand until they have been there themselves. There are many different forms of rape and many different types of victims, but the one thing that they have in common is that it is a act that is not willing. There are many challenges that a victim had to overcome and/or live with after being raped. To have the rapist put behind bars so that it cannot happen to another is the only way that a victim can get any piece.

References

American Family Physician. (1998). What to do if you’re raped. American Family Physician,

1998 Sep 15; 58 (4): 929-930.

Retrieved from: http://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/0915/p929.html

Meadows, Robert J. (2010). Understanding violence and victimization. (5th ed.) Pearson

Potts, Donna L. (2011). For a victim of rape, silence is no benefit. (Pandora’s Project).

Retrieved from: http://www.pandys.org/articles/silenceisnobenefit.htm

Shannon. (2007). Was it my fault? Self-blame and survivors. (Pandora’s Project).

Retrieved from: http://www.pandys.org/articles/selfblameandsurvivors.html

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