RAPE: IT’S PREVENTION AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTED SERVICES FOR VICTIMS

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RAPE: IT’S PREVENTION AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTED SERVICES FOR VICTIMS

 

            Rape is one of the crimes committed which is underreported. Ambivalence from the victim, lack of support, or threat from the attacker are only some of the reasons as to why a rape or sexual assault victim refuses to file a case against the aggressor.

Prevalence of rape crimes some 25 years or so long ago was based on heterosexual rape. May it be an attempted or a completed case of rape.  A lot of risk factors contribute to the vulnerability of a woman to be raped and tendency of a man to commit rape. There are also instances wherein both parties are to be blamed due to behavioral factors such as alcohol consumption or assumptions of an individual that the other is provoking him to have casual sex. Interventions that would help in the prevention of rape includes continued research, rape-prevention education or prevention-education programs on campuses, increasing education focusing on rape, communication assertiveness, alcohol use and abuse information, and rape empathy. Although the results of what happens after the teachings and seminars dos not totally guarantee the decline or increase of rape incidences, the attitudes of the students towards rape have either changed or remained the same.

We now turn our attention to the Rape Crisis Centers (RCCs). They were considered a remarkable help for those who were sexually assaulted and for the society. Catering to the medical, legal, and mental health systems of the survivors, the effects that the RCCs not only influenced the antirape activists, but they were also

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important to students of societal change and social movements. The RCCs were a role model for revolutionary feminist ideology which was not likely cease to exist any time before long. They offer a number of services to victims and families like a 24-hour hotline, counseling, and legal and medical support. Although most of the victims do not report the assault to the system of criminal justice, seek medical advice, or acquire mental health services, RCCs do their very best to be effective in obtaining justice and the return of the victim’s homeostasis. The function and structure of RCCs have also changed over time, from the activist movements to the empowerment of the survivors. Even so, these alterations have directed to the continuing commitment of the organization to help victims out and affect change ion the society concerning rape.

            The first article was a little bit confusing because there were a lot of risk factors regarding rape or sexual assault. There were numerous causes, such as the behaviors of the male gender compared to the female. The author also pointed out that there were really no definite grounds for the risk factors to be called as such because it is not clear enough as of now. On the other hand, the second article was very empowering. Although most of the victims and their families are very apprehensive in calling out for help, I personally think that any assistance coming from various organizations that support sexually assaulted survivors would do a lot of good for the victim/s and their respective families. Both articles relate in such a way that the second piece of writing was somehow one of the ways a sexually-assaulted victim can cope and manage her situation. The first article described how sexual assault comes about while the second article referred to support groups that would aid the victim/survivor in dealing with her

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posttraumatic condition. I learned that, even though it was not so much mentioned in the first reading, incest is gradually increasing. Most of the rape victim’s attacker/s are those known or of acquaintance to them.

            Based on the articles that I have read, I pose an argument with regard to the interventions and programs made with sexual assault taken into account. It seems that more methods should be proposed and implemented for the empowerment of the victims and for the female population as well. Rape Crisis Centers have been very helpful in making the victims well in their day to day living during and after this painful experience. They also challenged the legal, medical, and health care systems to deal with chauvinist practices. The continuing involvement and contribution of the sexual assault victim movement has raised the shared consciousness of humanity to comprehend the aggression against women as a political matter in need of political feat. Sexually assaulted survivors, linked with effective interventions established by public or private organizations would be a great team up when it comes to battling sexual violence.

 

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References

 

Bachar, K. and Koss, M. Chapter 7 From Prevalence to Prevention: Closing the

Gap Between What We Know About Rape and What We Do. Types of Violence Against Women. pages 117-137.

Binge Drinking. February 15, 2008, from

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/alcohol/binge_drink.html

Campbell, R. and Martin, PY. Chapter 12 Services for Sexual Assault Survivors:

The Role of Rape Crisis Centers. Prevention and Direct Interventions.

pages 227-239.

Q. What is incest? February 15, 2008, from

http://incestabuse.about.com/cs/incestrecovery/f/whatincest.htm

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