IX in Real Life | Психология взаимоотношений

Подпись: magine a man who has been mugged going through the same type of cross-examination as a woman who has been raped: "Mr. Henke, you were held up at gunpoint on the corner of Locust and 12th?" "Yes." "Did you struggle with the mugger?" "No, I did not." "Why not?" "I saw he had a gun!" "You decided to comply rather than to fight him?" "Yes." "Did you scream for help?" "No. I was worried he might kill me!" "Mr. Henke, have you ever given away money?" "Yes." "And you did so willingly?" "What are you getting at?" "Well, the way I see it, Mr. Henke, you've given money away in the past. Maybe you just wanted someone to take your money forcibly."

Подпись: "Yeah . . . sure." "OK, what time did this mugging occur?" "About 11:30 P.M." "What were you doing out on the street that late?" "Walking home." "From where?" "I had been out at a bar entertaining clients." "So you were drinking?" "Yes." "What were you wearing?" "A suit. I was still in my work clothes." "An expensive suit?" "Yeah, actually it was, I am a successful businessman, you know. I have to wear nice clothes." "In other words, Mr. Henke, you were walking around the city streets late at night, under the influence of al-cohol, in an expensive suit that advertised your wealth, right? If we didn't know better, Mr. Henke, we might even think that you were asking for this to happen, mightn't we?"

Questioning the Victim: Was He Asking for It?

ReviewQuestion

Explain some of the strategies given for ^avoiding a rape. When might these strategies cause more harm than good?

Avoidance Strategies

Rape is the only violent crime in which we expect a person to fight back. If a woman does not struggle, we question whether or not she wanted to have sex. Only with visible proof of a struggle (bruises and cuts) does society seem to have sympathy. Some victims of rape have said that, at the time of the rape, they felt frozen with fear, that it was impossible to move because they just could not believe what was happening to them. One victim explains:

Did you ever see a rabbit stuck in the glare of your headlights when you were going down a road at night? Transfixed—like it knew it was going to get it—that’s what happened. (Brownmiller, 1975, p. 358)

How does a person know when to fight back? What should his or her strategies be? If you are confronted with a potential or attempted rape, the first and best strategy is to try to escape. However, this may not be possible if you are in a deserted area, if there are multiple attackers, or if your attacker has a weapon. If you cannot escape, effective strategies include verbal strategies such as screaming, dissuasive techniques (“I have my period,” or “I have herpes”), empathy (listening or trying to understand), negotiation (“Let’s discuss this”), and stalling for time. However, if the rapist does not believe the victim, these techniques may cause more harm than good.

Prentky and colleagues (1986) asserts that the safest strategy is to attempt to talk to the attacker and try to make yourself a real person to him (“I’m a stranger; why do you want to hurt me?”). Self-defense classes can help a person to feel more confident in his or her ability to fight back. One study found that women who had taken a self-defense class felt more prepared and less scared during the rape than women who had never taken such a class (Brecklin & Ullman, 2005).

ReviewQuestion

Explain some of the therapies that have been used in the treatment of rapists.