Growing up was a rush, just by one touch, keeping secrets bottled up inside. Fear of love change in mother’s eyes. I had to wipe my own tears, paranoid of my own fears it all happened so fast almost like a dream; a flash my youth pulled away in a back room in just one day, that day forced to receive it I blocked it away and never believed it (victim poem).
Rape survivor thoughts of worthlessness may often occur given that a survivor believe that something has been taken away from them, a certain value or innocence, has been misplaced or completely lost.
Victim is a twenty-seven year old young woman that has went through a very devastating ordeal. Victims may experience physical symptoms that are explicit to the areas of her body that
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Burgess, L.L. Holmstrom,1974).” Trauma is psychological and the response will vary with each victim, some have a range of emotions following an assault, such as pain, irritation from being touched by the attacker, tension and soreness, crying, yelling, angry, overwhelm, confused, and disgraced. Having a physical exam with a male doctor, after being rape could possibly begin the ordeal with trauma and fear all over again for the victim. Some victims may express concern of having a male doctor examine them, during and after the exam performed by the opposite gender; a rape victim may show signs of trauma because a male doctor may make her feel as though she is being rape all over again. An exam consists of a forensic examination, many questions asked of the victim, such as the last time of consensual sex, history of sexual diseases, as well as undergo a complete physical inspection for any concealed injuries, and bruising. Victim will have to inform the doctor of her height and weight measurements, date of last period. The doctor will also take hair and pubic hair samples, and swab her mouth, vaginal and anal areas, scraping of her nails and retrieve blood samples for DNA, and toxicology.
Rape victims can request to have a female perform the examination, but sometimes this cannot happen if a female physician is not on call. Victims that
I work for the City Health Care Partnership within the Primary Care Medical Services, I work for 4 different GP practices as the Data Quality Manager but main base been at Kingston Medical Centre in the Central appointments team, at Kingston Medical Centre we have 4 full time GP’s, 3 Nurses, 2 Health Care Assistants, 7 Receptionists, 2 Admin members based in the Central appointments
There are two sides to a rape, the rapist and the victim. The victim is most of the time a woman but men are raped as well. It is a common myth that there is a type of woman that is more likely to be raped. This is indeed a myth, most of the time rape is a crime of opportunity, the victim is not chosen because of her looks or behavior, but because she is there (Benedict 2). The average rape victim is 18-39 years old and female, the average rapist is 25 years old and male. The effect of rape on a woman is an enormous one. The woman will come away from a rape with both physical and psychological damage. Eventually the physical wounds will heal, the psychological wounds will take quite some time before or if they ever heal (Grady 4). A sexual assault robs the woman of a sense of control; a feeling of loss of freedom is common among rape victims. To put her life in order she must regain this sense of control. Almost all rape victims suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (Benedict 2). The first symptom is the reliving or re-experiencing of the
The stereotype of who a typical sexual assault victim is, is also detrimental to abide by as male victims of sexual assault will often fear being blamed and feel emasculated as a result of their victimisation. The continuation of stereotypic types of victims when considering a certain crime can often distort the seriousness of sexual
Van der Kolk (1987) notes that human responses to trauma are relatively constant across various types of traumatic stimuli, where individuals have poor tolerance to arousal stimuli and may experience social and emotional withdrawal. These changes in the body’s arousal and perception prevent the continuance of “normal” life, and require help.
Trauma is an individual’s visceral reaction to a horrible event, events such as early childhood traumas, accidents, sexual abuse, or community violence (apa.org, 2016). An individual may react with shock and denial in the aftermath. As time continues some reactions may comprise of mood swings, intrusive memories, difficulties maintaining relationships and can manifest into physical symptoms to include headache or upset stomach. There are individuals who experience difficulties functioning in their daily lives; these observable responses are a normal response to the trauma (apa.org, 2016).
Sexual assault and the Massachusetts Department of Public works with local rape crisis centers to gather statistical data so we can assess and know the facts and realities of rape in Massachusetts. While statistics do not tell the whole story of sexual assault, they can help us paint a picture of the problem. The forensic nurse has an integral part of this specific population’s victimization. A forensic nurse should have a basic knowledge of the type of offender the rapist can be. As a certified sexual assault investigator for Middlesex County I have investigated, collected evidence, arrested, testified and successfully aided in the prosecution and conviction of rapists. I will explore the definition of rape and criminal statutes related to the crime of rape, rape trauma syndrome, and some of the drugs a perpetrator uses to assist in commission of this crime and how the FN and the police share a different but equal role in prosecuting the offender.
Trauma comes from the Greek – meaning wound, and meaning damage, harm, or impairment. Trauma affects every body. The traumatized person will experience dissociation, disbelief, isolation, and hopelessness. They will often wonder “Where is God and why has he left me?”
The Violence of Care: Rape Victims, Forensic Nurses, and Sexual Assault Intervention. NYU Press, 2014.
Law Enforcement – Officers are trained to take reports from sexual assault survivors, consciously avoid triggering any secondary victimization, and to avoid rape myths when making their report. Whether the case is pursued further by officers depends on the wishes of the survivor as well as available evidence (i.e., was the assailant identified, was a weapon used, what kind of evidence was collected).
While the effort of processing the backlog of rape kits is noble and of great public interest it may leave some questioning the benefits that this testing provides to the survivors of sexual assault and the general public.
In regard to anal penetration, about 63% of men who seek medical care for a sexual assault show signs of at least one type of damage to the rectum (Ernst, Green, Ferguson, Weiss, & Green, 2000; Hillman et al., 1990; however, also see McLean et al., 2004).
What is rape, and to whom does it happen? Generally speaking, rape is a violent sexual act imposed on a nonconsenting partner that makes you question many things about yourself. Unfortunately the mythology usually surrounding rape is that it only happens to women. The fact is, rape does not only happen to women, but men as well. It is one of the most misunderstood of all crimes, and when the victim is male, understanding why it has happened, is one of the hardest things to comprehend.
Sexual assault and rape has always been a social and public issue in the United States. A majority of the time, women become the victims, while men become the perpetrators. National surveys in the United States show that one in six women has experienced an attempted or completed rape. Consent appears to be a critical factor in determining whether assault or rape has taken place. Women have a higher chance of being raped by who they are acquainted with rather than strangers.
Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery was an amazing read because it tackles the question of “What does it actually mean to be traumatized?” Every single person, no matter how old, has experienced some level of fear— especially those of us who live in NYC! Whether it’s a yellow cab running a red light as you cross 56th Street, the aggressive homeless man on the 6 train who can’t accept the fact that you don’t have any spare change to give, or that time you decided to have street meat for dinner and were stuck on the toilet for the remainder of your night, we can all identify the ways in which our body responds to moments of distress. You may break out into a sprint, your heart beats against your chest as you sweat profusely, and you might even shed tears. In those moments, your entire existence becomes focused around the perceived life or death situation.
The experience of trauma can be identified as either acute (e.g., natural disaster, serious accident) or chronic (e.g., physical abuse, sexual abuse), which