The experience of rape crisis counsellors suggest that victims of rape are often victimized again, after the assault, by social, medical and legal processes. Because of this, women who are sexually assaulted are frequently reluctant to receive medical attention, report the crime to the police, or even tell close friends and relatives, and they may experience some degree of self-blame and guilt over the assault. This paper reports descriptive information about the social victimization process and the psychological experiences of 231 consecutive cases of rape reported to a Sexual Assault Service. Until the "social" nature of victimization is acknowledged and better understood, primary intervention strategies of social action (directed at others) will be difficult to implement and social services will continue to be victim-centered and victim-blaming. The implications for psychological research and service of this "social" aspect of social problems is discussed.One of the common misconceptions about sexual assaults is the belief that the majority of "genuine" cases involves either harm or threat of harm by an assailant who is unknown to the victim when, in fact, most assaults are by a person known to the victim, take place in the victim's own home, and do not include physical injury (Renner & Wackett, 1987).There is widespread cultural support for a variety of beliefs and attitudes about sex roles and the relationship between men and women (Herman, 1984) that assume that when there is not actual harm or threat of harm, and when the assailant is known to the victim, that unwanted sex seldom happens, and when it does happen, is not rape (Burt, 1980; Williams & Holmes, 1981). For example, Seligmann (1984) reported that in a 1981 survey of teenagers that 54% of the boys and 42% of the girls believed forced This research was supported by the Ministry of the Solicitor General under the Solicitor General Fund for Independent Research. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the Solicitor General nor the Government of Canada.Requests for reprints may be forwarded to Dr.
The Service for Sexual Assault Victims in Halifax reviewed 474 cases of sexual assault handled over a three-year period to determine the nature and relative frequency of social and stranger sexual assault. Women are most likely to be sexually assaulted by a man who is known to and often trusted by them. Women who are raped in a social context are less willing than those raped by a stranger to seek help at the time of the assault, to receive medical attention, or to report the rape to the police. They are also less likely to be threatened with physical harm or to receive physical injury. The cultural values which are responsible for the high frequency of sexual assaults by men who are known to their victims, and for the reluctance of the women to disclose the assault, are discussed.
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