Providing Professional Assistance to Rape Victims in Canada

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
The Psychological Effects of Rape on the Victims
Prejudice Against Victims of Rape
Raising Awareness of the Depth of the Rape Issue
Working with Victims of Rape
Conclusion
References

Abstract

Rape is estimated to be one of the most severe traumatic stresses. The extreme degree of helplessness, the brutal encroachment of physical and personal boundaries, and the threat to life – all of the above make rape one of the most traumatic stresses. Violence has a severe impact on the physical, mental and sexual health of women and girls. It affects women throughout their lives and is a significant cause of injury, disability, and death. A psychosocial recovery system for victims is essential to prevent and respond to violence. The problem of psychological recovery after rape, under-researched and extremely serious, can be addressed at the level of social support through the Canadian government, non-profit organizations, and crisis centers.

Introduction

Sexual and gender-based violence is a horrible human rights violation. This type of violence perpetuates a stereotype of gender roles that denies the individual’s human dignity and brings human development to a standstill. In Canada, it is against the law to physically assault, threaten, or harass another person. Strong prevention and response measures are needed to reduce violence against women in Canada and provide the necessary rehabilitation to those who have already been abused. The most effective way to ensure the successful reintegration of rape victims in Canada is to equip the social support system with psychotherapy clinics, education, and outreach programs, as these will help accelerate their rehabilitation.

The Psychological Effects of Rape on the Victims

The problem of rape cannot be thought of in terms of physical harm alone. The trauma of rape goes much deeper than just physical harm and causes enormous psychological damage. The victim suffers significant psychological damage, which can take months or even years to recover from. Victims experience frustration, psychological distress, and trauma-phobic nightmares in which they fear reliving the experience (O’Donohue et al., 2014). Physical and sexual abuse is a particular type of trauma because the psychological fear of death and destruction is linked to physical actions and sensations. It has been argued that post-rape trauma is divided into two main phases – initial shock and an excruciatingly long recovery process (O’Donohue et al., 2014). This leads to difficulties in forming close relationships or may make them impossible due to avoidance.

Trauma results from a disruption of natural psychobiological processes, not a mental pathology, and can be healed. It results from the body’s incomplete instinctive response to the traumatic event. Traumatic symptoms, such as helplessness, anxiety, depression, and others, arise from the accumulation of residual energy that has been mobilized by the encounter with the traumatic event. A weakened psychological state results in severe damage inflicted on the physicist due to excessive stress and exhaustion (O’Donohue et al., 2014). To free themselves from the captivity of trauma, most women turn to conventional psychotherapy, consisting of different strands of psychotherapy, such as psychodynamic approaches or supportive therapy. Although effective, many of these methods take months or years to recover and heal psychiatrically, and many women do not achieve full recovery due to high drop-out rates and high medical or psychotherapeutic costs.

Prejudice Against Victims of Rape

Public perceptions of sexual crimes and their victims need to be corrected because of too many myths and prejudices. Stereotypes distort perceptions, leading to decisions based on preconceived beliefs and myths rather than on relevant facts. The situation in which rape occurs cannot be unambiguously characterized as they are divided into different types according to the principle of the victim’s behavior (Lewis et al., 2019). Judges often impose strict requirements on what they believe to be the appropriate norm of a woman and punish those who do not conform to these stereotypes. Stereotypes also harm the credibility of women’s statements, arguments, and testimony as parties and witnesses in court. Sociologists and psychologists note that the boundaries of the definition of the psychological state of Post-Rape Syndrome are difficult to clarify (O’Donohue et al., 2014).

Racial and ethnic stereotypes about sexual violence are linked to one another, and they subsequently build up into complex routines. For example, studies and polls show that the public perceives non-Caucasian women as more prone to spontaneous intercourse (Lewis et al., 2019). Research on the condition after rape is filled with information gaps and a lack of specific conclusions from the findings. This is due to the bias of some studies and many prejudices ingrained in society. Thus, the study of this syndrome and the necessary psychological support for victims needs to be adjusted, taking into account not only gender but also race and age.

Raising Awareness of the Depth of the Rape Issue

Awareness-raising is needed to remove the moral stigma from rape victims and facilitate the provision of assistance. The recent growing media attention on the tragedy of violence has focused the world’s attention on this issue. However, besides the positive results as publicity, there have also been negative ones, such as a lack of understanding of the problem and, in some cases, even condemnation of the victims by the public. Depending on the hypothetical scenario of rape, the respondents can justify the victim or, on the contrary, make her responsible (Lewis et al., 2019). However, it is not only victims of rape who are morally oppressed, but also former sex offenders who cannot integrate back into society (Lewis et al., 2019). This is because society is widely aware of the facts of rape itself. However, awareness of the psychological and physical consequences is still deficient.

Apart from the trauma of rape itself, victims also suffer from mistrust in society. There is no direct evidence base to determine that all rape claims are true (O’Donohue et al., 2014). The image of the rapist may disappear from the victim’s memory due to post-traumatic stress disorder, and it will then be much more difficult to prove the truthfulness of what they say. People are more insensitive to this painful topic because they view it as an immoral event they would not want to be associated with. Knowledge of the complexity of this topic needs to be spread because the acceptance of traumatized people by society is just as important as the inner frustrations of the victim.

Working with Victims of Rape

Work with victims should be as humane and tolerant as possible. Methodical and comprehensive physical and psychological assistance with long-term support is necessary. Psychological counseling for victims of violence is a complex task because people who have been or are being abused are in a problematic psychoemotional state. They experience shame and guilt, often denying the abuse and keeping it a secret, especially in a family situation. They may be characterized by experiences of terror, hypervigilance, physiological and mental tension, suicidal thoughts. The psychological diagnosis of the post-traumatic syndrome is complicated by the coincidence of symptoms with other psychoemotional disorders (O’Donohue et al., 2014). Urgent psychological support for victims should stabilize their current mental state and restore their safety in life. Urgent care does not involve in-depth psychological research and experimentation. Most post-rape studies do not address the victim’s past background to suggest possible future patterns of behavior (Rickard, 2016). Such studies are precisely in urgent psychological care, which does not consider past and future scenarios.

However, there are many methods of helping victims of violence at the moment that involve in-depth and long-term work. The state should ensure that each victim of sexual violence receives such assistance and minimize the stigmatization of such people in the population. Various social movements are a good method for this. For instance, discussion around sexual assault situations took on a much more open discussion format with the emergence of the #MeToo movement (Lewis et al., 2019). In addition, the person experiencing the trauma of violence should not receive general but individualized support, which will consider their psychological portrait. Support is needed that is measured and long-term to monitor the victim’s condition and behavior over time. The integration of a victim experiencing post-violence syndrome into society should gradually occur, and the reaction of those around the victim and their support, rather than condemnation, is crucial in therapy.

Conclusion

Despite the prejudices regarding rape, women who have survived this traumatic experience should receive all necessary social and psychological support. In modern society, the very topic of rape has until recently been virtually taboo. Post-rape research is an area of great controversy, ambiguity, and lack of clarity. Surveys show a tendency in society to place part of the blame for what happened to the victim, which is unacceptable. At the same time, such social insensitivity is one of the reasons why it is challenging for victims to integrate back into society. Victims need as much tolerance from society as possible to avoid victim-blaming complexes. Every victim must be treated in the same way. At the same time, an individual approach that takes into account the victim’s background is fundamental. It is necessary to rid society of these prejudices and provide the victim of sexual violence with the necessary psychological and social assistance over a long period.

References

Lewis, K. R., Robillard, A., Billings, D., & White, K. (2019). Differential perceptions of a hypothetical sexual assault survivor based on race and ethnicity: Exploring victim responsibility, trauma, and need for social support. Journal of American College Health 67(4), 308-317.

O’Donohue, W., Carlson, G. S., Benuto, L. T. and Bennett, N. M. (2014). Examining the scientific validity of rape trauma syndrome. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 21(6), 858-876.

Rickard, D. (2016). Sex offenders, stigma, and social control. Rutgers University Press.

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