Students often laugh at the idea that a man could be raped by a woman because they be­lieve the myth that men are always willing to have sex, and so a woman would never need to rape a man. However, the myth actually serves to make male rape more humil­iating and painful for many men. […]

When a man or woman’s sexual partner is raped, the partner often feels anger, frustra­tion, and intense feelings of revenge (M. E. Smith, 2005). Many partners express a strong desire to “kill him” (the rapist), “make him pay,” and the like. In addition, some partners experience a sense of loss, guilt, self-blame, and jealousy. Emotional […]

Women with disabilities, regardless of their age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or so­cioeconomic class, are assaulted, raped, and abused at a rate two times greater than women without disabilities (Cusitar, 1994; Sobsey, 1994). They may be more vulnerable because of their diminished ability to fight back. In addition, mentally handicapped per­sons may have a more […]

Rape is a common experience in both heterosexual and lesbian women. Like heterosex­ual women, lesbian women also experience rape trauma syndrome following a rape. However, for many lesbians, it is very difficult to assimilate the experience of rape into their own self-image (Orzek, 1988). Many lesbians may also be “feminist-identified” in most areas of their […]

Although we have learned from the research that there are certain groups more at risk for rape and sexual assault, we also know that there are special populations who are also at risk, including spouses, lesbians, older women, women with disabilities, and prostitutes. Marital Rape As of 1993, marital rape is considered a crime in […]

Some victims never discuss their rape with anyone and carry the burden of the assault alone. Burgess and Holmstrom (1974) call this the silent rape reaction, and in many ways, it is similar to RTS. Feelings of fear, anger, and depression and physiological symp­toms still exist; however, they remain locked inside. In fact, those who […]

  ollowing is a letter written by an 18-year-old col­lege student who had been raped by an acquain­tance. It is written to the man who raped her. Notice the lack of trust and vulnerability she expresses. Once I called you a friend. Not anymore. Once I trusted you. You broke that trust by using it […]

Researchers Burgess and Holmstrom (1974) coined the term rape trauma syndrome (RTS), which describes the effects of rape. RTS is a two-stage stress response pattern characterized by physical, psychological, behavioral, and/or sexual problems, and it oc­curs after forced, nonconsenting sexual activity. Although not all victims respond to rape in the same manner, what follows is […]

Rape is an emotionally, physically, and psychologically shattering experience for the vic­tim. Immediately after a rape, many victims report feeling numb and disorganized. Some deny that the rape occurred at all, to avoid the pain of dealing with it. Others express self-blame, disbelief, anger, vulnerability, and increased feelings of dependency. As time goes by, the […]

Alcohol use is one of the strongest predictors of acquaintance rape on college campuses (Koss, 1988; Loiselle, 2004), where half of all rape cases involve the use of alcohol by the rapist, victim, or both (Abbey, 2002; Abbey et al., 2001; Hensley, 2002; Marx et al., 1999). For men, alcohol seems to “sexualize” the environment […]