A Rape-Victim’s Story of Recovery
Strickland, L. (2002, March/April). "Healing in Helping: A Rape-Victim’s Story of Recovery." Psychology Today, 35(2), 61.
OVERVIEW
‘Two years after being raped…I suddenly realized that I hadn’t once thought of committing suicide all day. At that moment, I knew I wanted to live.’
Rape is a serious issue, not to be taken lightly. So often we hear about rape victims after a significant amount of time has passed; very seldom do we hear of them soon after the occurrence. Are we living in a society which shames our youth and young adults about a traumatic experience? Are we to the point where we can hear about a rape victim and not feel shocked?
‘Rape is not about sex, passion or lust. Rape is about fear, humiliation and control. Rape is a crime as violent as shooting or stabbing.’
How do youth leaders, workers, confidants, and peers express our openness to learn about this humiliation? Most often, rape isn’t reported because the victim feels not only violated but humiliated and sometimes even too embarrassed to say anything. Rape must be taken seriously, and youth leaders need to be willing to address the issue. We cannot be afraid of rape, for the sake of the victims and the violators.
Rape victims often feel they are to blame or are too scared to say anything, to prosecute, to get help. Rape isn’t something that one person can deal with alone; they need to seek help…from friends, family, and professionals.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
- How can youth workers make rape a serious topic of discussion?
- How do we encourage rape victims to ‘speak up’ sooner than later?
- How do we educate teens on the tension between the fear of rape and the embarrassment of rape?
- How can we help rape victims to ‘come back to life’?
- How approachable are you to rape victims? How educated are you about rape and its aftermath?
IMPLICATIONS
- We need to be open about the subject of rape.
- Rape isn’t something that could just happen to that person who lives on the other side of town, but it could be your neighbor or somebody in your house; be sensitive with the issue, but don’t be afraid to talk about it.
- Resources are important. Be sure that you have plenty of information, and access to professional counselors. In fact, encourage counseling.
Rebecca Fry cCYS
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How true this is. 59% of rape
How true this is. 59% of rape cases aren't even reported. Most females don't wish to say a word because they feel like its their fault. I know someone who recently got raped again by the same person again. She refused to do anything about I, actually the only reason why she even mentioned it was because she was upset with me. I forced her into telling her dad and going to the hospital right away. I felt like crap but I knew the importance of it. If every victim were to speak up and say something, the rapistsl the filth, wouldn't be walking around. I actually know that if we manage to increase the time in jail from a 3-4 ywar sentence to 30-40 year sentence, the rate would decrease. If it is for the reason that the perpentrator is now in jail and can not do it again or for the fact that now it is a true punishment following the action. most rape cases that are reported, about 15%, half of them the rapist gets a sentence of 3-4 years on account of sexual assult, a 6-12 month sentence, and aggevated assult, a 1-2 year sentence. The more victims that speak up, the faster reform will be accounted for by the judges and government. A year back a 15 year old girl got raped by 15 males on a school dance while an average of 20 people watched it happen. She got raped for 2 hours. Not a single soul called the cops that night. The police found her drugged the next day bleeding on school property. Sadly on half of the rapists got caught and convicted. Rape is terrible. Victims doubt themselves afterward, yet they did nothing wrong. A big problem with convicting is that not sufficient evidence can be found. After rape, you need to not shower and rush to the hospital for a medical check up. Trust me on this. If every women knew to do that 99% of cases would leave the rapist behind bars for years to come. I'm so sorry for anyone out there that h ad to go through somethign like that. Its horrible, truly. Personally I think they deserve a death sentence. They are nothing more then scum of the earth.
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