Sexaul Assault: Outsider Reactions Are Only Hurting Victims
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The 97 March, Angela Christofilou (https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/photography/women-97-march-protest-sexual-harassment-b1828540.html) |
Many find it unsurprising that every one in six women in the United States faces sexual assault (RAINN, 2020). There are many institutions that use cover-ups and denial when it comes to sexual assault. This includes the criminal justice system. The definition of sexual assault is when someone touches another person in a sexual manner without consent (RAINN, 2020).
The worst thing to do as an outsider is to blame the victim. When victims come forward about sexual assault people tend to doubt them. People would rather believe a potential rapist than a potential liar. Partaking in this mindset creates a dangerous environment for all victims. Victim blaming negatively impacts a victim's mental health with effects like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), along with their healing process (Kilpatrick, 2023).
People victim blame because of the fear of false accusations. It is unfair to victims to call them liars but stay connected with someone who has ties to sexual assault or rape, even if it turns out to be wrong. The number of false reports is extremely low, but the media chooses to promote those stories. Brown University did a study on false reports. They discovered that only 2% to 10% are false reports. The real problem with 'false reports' is not that victims are not coming forward.
Much victim blaming comes from the psychological worldview, just-world theory. For the world to be a just place that means bad things don’t just happen to good people, there must be a reason. People hold this tendency to blame the victim so they can see the world as fair. This view is entirely incorrect, as the world is nowhere near fair or just. People fail to see how other attributes affected another’s misfortune.
Victim blaming also heavily occurs when there was involvement of drugs or alcohol. Sexual assault cannot be attributed to the victim, only the offender. Psychiatrists classify victim-blaming as a secondary assault. Victims of sexual assault feel shame, this is internalized from the emotional and mental injury.
This feeling of shame is fed by accusatory blames and additional trauma. The action of victim blaming becomes irreversible trauma. When this occurs, victims experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Victim blaming has been positively correlated to PTSD in female and male sexual assault survivors. A study conducted in 2022 by Sage concluded that "The main effect of victim blaming was significant and positive in direction when examining both PTSD symptoms and unhealthy alcohol use".
In 2015 there was a criminal case called People v. Turner. In this case, Stanford University student Brock Turner sexually assaulted Chanel Miller while she was unconscious. Turner was indicted on five charges. Two for rape, two for felony sexual assault, and one for attempted rape. Yet Turner only faced three months in prison. This was because Turner was a member of the Stanford swim team, and the judge did not want it to affect his athletics.
Miller made a victim impact statement, and it received a lot of media attention. Many choose to blame Miller for being drunk and alone. Even Turner’s father said in response to the sentence, “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life” (Turner, 2016). This case not only accused a rapist on account of ‘good behavior’ but attacked Miller’s character and her mental health. Turner’s father attacked Miller creating more trauma for her to reverse.
In court, she spoke, “You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today” (Miller, 2016). Hurting victims like Miller in and out of the system has lasting effects that destroy their chance to recover from horrendous events.
The feelings of self-blame that victims experience also involuntarily open them and others to further attacks. Self-blame leaves victims depressed and sometimes suicidal. One-third of rape victims thought about ending their own life (Kilpatrick, 2000). When this hatred of self is portrayed in the media other survivors tend to find more doubt in themselves. Media has normalized victim blaming and sexual assault (Choi, 2021). The manifestation of hatred and blame wounds all victims and removes an opportunity to heal.
When outsiders attack the victim, it creates an unstable and destructive environment
for all survivors of sexual assault. Victims become less likely to come
forward in fear of the endless attacking questions. This leaves victims without
support, care, or treatment. Without these resources, victims experience
worsening symptoms of psychological illness.
Asking hurtful questions prolongs a survivor's road to recovery. When Victims disclose their sexual assault the easiest thing to do is doubt them. But that is not the right mindset. To help victims in their healing process an outsider needs to be understanding and willing to listen. Another reason people victim blame is because they lack empathy. They do not understand the situation and make no effort to. This is why it is important to practice empathy when talking with sexual assault victims. Try and see the event through their eyes instead of taking an outsider's view.
It is also important to encourage survivors to find resources that will help. This does not mean they have to report it to the police, but it could be calling the sexual assault hotline or finding a therapist. Those wishing to help can also find non-profit organizations that are working to end the stigma against sexual assault victims. Resources can be expensive and funding these organizations allows victims to get the help they need. It is important to remember that only the crime's perpetrator is responsible for their actions, not the victims.
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