- Admin
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anthony
Founder
It is commonly assumed that all rapists are strangers lurking in dark alleyways ready to pounce on unsuspecting and vulnerable women. This is the scenario commonly portrayed in television dramas and novels. However, in reality most rapes are committed by someone known to the victim. This, along with the trauma of a rape trial, largely contributes to the under reporting of rape cases and the low conviction rate in rape trials.
Rape is far more common than many people think. The majority of rapes go unreported by victims and, similar to domestic violence cases, the media rarely cover those cases that are reported. Instead, they tend to highlight cases that are not representative of the experience of most rape victims, such as those involving celebrities. This further distorts the real picture of rape, and contributes to people’s misunderstandings. Several large scale studies have been conducted in an effort to discover the real prevalence of rape. One such study was conducted by Hall in 1985, with data from 1,236 women. This London based study estimated that one in every five women had survived rape or attempted rape. Similarly, a U.S study with data from 6,000 female college students conducted by Koss and colleagues in 1987 estimated that one in every four women had survived rape or attempted rape.
Although the physical act of rape may only occur once and end relatively quickly, it can have long lasting and traumatic effects, both psychologically and physically. A U.K study of 100 women, conducted by Lees in 1996, revealed that all these women experienced changes in their life as a direct result of their rape. Most of the women became more cautious, and fearful of leaving their homes. Many took time off work, or in some cases gave up their job completely and moved home. Many of the women experienced problems in their romantic relationships, as they were unable to resume a sexual relationship with their partner, this often led to the break up of the relationship.
Rape often led to more profound psychological problems such as chronic nightmares, and mental health disorders including depression and anxiety. Many had begun to self-harm, several had experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, and one victim had attempted suicide. Equally, the physical consequences of rape had also had long lasting effects on many of the women sampled. 20% of the women had lost their virginity as a result of the rape and 7% had contracted a sexually transmitted infection. Six of the women had become pregnant as a result, and were faced with the additional burden of deciding whether to terminate their pregnancy.
In conclusion, it is clear that there are plenty of misconceptions surrounding the taboo topic of rape, exacerbated by the depictions in the media. Furthermore, it is clear that rape leads to a variety of long lasting and traumatic effects that supersede the initial physical violation.
Rape is far more common than many people think. The majority of rapes go unreported by victims and, similar to domestic violence cases, the media rarely cover those cases that are reported. Instead, they tend to highlight cases that are not representative of the experience of most rape victims, such as those involving celebrities. This further distorts the real picture of rape, and contributes to people’s misunderstandings. Several large scale studies have been conducted in an effort to discover the real prevalence of rape. One such study was conducted by Hall in 1985, with data from 1,236 women. This London based study estimated that one in every five women had survived rape or attempted rape. Similarly, a U.S study with data from 6,000 female college students conducted by Koss and colleagues in 1987 estimated that one in every four women had survived rape or attempted rape.
Although the physical act of rape may only occur once and end relatively quickly, it can have long lasting and traumatic effects, both psychologically and physically. A U.K study of 100 women, conducted by Lees in 1996, revealed that all these women experienced changes in their life as a direct result of their rape. Most of the women became more cautious, and fearful of leaving their homes. Many took time off work, or in some cases gave up their job completely and moved home. Many of the women experienced problems in their romantic relationships, as they were unable to resume a sexual relationship with their partner, this often led to the break up of the relationship.
Rape often led to more profound psychological problems such as chronic nightmares, and mental health disorders including depression and anxiety. Many had begun to self-harm, several had experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, and one victim had attempted suicide. Equally, the physical consequences of rape had also had long lasting effects on many of the women sampled. 20% of the women had lost their virginity as a result of the rape and 7% had contracted a sexually transmitted infection. Six of the women had become pregnant as a result, and were faced with the additional burden of deciding whether to terminate their pregnancy.
In conclusion, it is clear that there are plenty of misconceptions surrounding the taboo topic of rape, exacerbated by the depictions in the media. Furthermore, it is clear that rape leads to a variety of long lasting and traumatic effects that supersede the initial physical violation.
