Essay On Rape Survivors

What rape survivors go through is beyond imaginable and I would not wish it on my worst enemies. Rape survivors suffer a lot more than just physical damage, they go through several different stages afterwards and to some people the physiological damage can be a lot worse than the physical damage. Anyone that suffers this horrendous attack will experience physical, emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal behavior. As described in the Round House, a book about a boy’s journey to seeking revenge from his mother’s rapist. Geraldine, the woman attacked in the book experienced a variety of things such as diminished alertness and dulled sensory and memory functions. Rape survivors exhibit higher rates of poor health in the months and years after
This is something that is common after rape attacks. In a study done at a research program at the sexual assault resource services (SARS) at Hennepin County Medical Center, which assesses the kind of attributions rape victims make whether behavioral or characterological self-blame are associated with the other variables as hypothesized, the study goes on to say that “the available data suggest that all kinds of self-blame are related to increased trauma post-rape…… Numerous studies have documented common patterns of reactions to rape, as well as factors that are related to individual differences in post-rape trauma” (Frazier). The reason I believe Geraldine forgot about her fears and started remember was possibly due to the connection she made with the baby and her mother, at this point there was someone else in danger and she needed to remember what happened. Her recollection was very visual for me unfortunately, it was difficult reading the details, but it was a positive turn for the book. The study reveals that “According to this hypothesis, victims who blame themselves may cope more successfully” (Frazier), although it’s not clearly revealed that Geraldine blames herself, many rape victims tend to think that way.