What is rape?
When we refer to rape we will be referring to any act of a sexual nature which has been forced onto another person. Rape is a violent, traumatic and life changing experience that can happen to anyone. It can happen in many situations.
Rape is an act of power and control, sex is used as the medium to achieve this. Rape only begins with the physical act, during this time every part of the individual is concentrated on surviving. After the assault, the struggle to comprehend and understand what has happened begins. It’s meaning floods over the survivor who has to find a way to return to their body, their lives, their sense self.
A girl or woman can be raped by her boyfriend, her husband, a family member, a friend, someone she knows, a stranger, or by a gang of men. Men and boys can also be raped.
Some of the effects of rape include:
- PHYSICAL Shock, physical injury, nausea, tension headaches, disturbed sleeping patterns and disturbed eating patterns.
- BEHAVIOUR Crying more than usual, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, listlessness, withdrawing from people and relationships, not wanting to be alone, being easily frightened and jumpy, being easily upset, irritability, fear of sex, loss of sexual pleasure, changes in lifestyle, increased substance abuse and behaving as if the rape did not occur.
- PSYCHOLOGICAL Anxiety and fear, guilt, helplessness, humiliation and embarrassment, shame, lower self esteem, anger, feeling alone and that no one understands, losing hope in the future, numbness, confusion, loss of memory, having flashbacks to the rape, nightmares, depression and becoming suicidal.
All of these reactions are normal responses to the experience of rape, when someone who has been raped displays these reactions it does not mean that they are going “crazy”. Not all people who have been raped will respond in the same ways. If someone who has been raped does not show any of these reactions it does not mean they have not been raped. There is no right or wrong reaction to rape.
