|
View the streaming video CNN report
Download a player Vivo's technical FAQ Women cope with rape's overlooked trauma
January 3, 1997
Web posted at: 11:30 p.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Rhonda Rowland
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Every 45 seconds, a woman in the United States is sexually assaulted. Some of the attackers are strangers. But in three of four rapes, the woman knows the assailant -- an acquaintance, a friend, a relative.
(89k/8 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
(145k/13 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
(195k/18 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
(98k/9 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
(114k/11 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)"My attacker had been my friend for five years. This was someone that I trusted with my life," says one rape victim who asked not to be identified.
But even though these women are victims, not culprits, they still suffer from a sense of shame, a stigma.
"I feel like all the questions came right at me. What were you doing?" one victim says.
Many women say others have a tough time understanding why rape, especially non-violent rape, is so traumatic.
"I think for a lot of people, if it's not violent, it's not rape," says Tracy. "And you have a hard time explaining that, not just to men, but to women also."
But Claire Walsh understands. She's a sexual victimization specialist who takes her message to colleges and other groups.
"Rape is not sex," she says. "Rape is a kind of death as described by victims. This is a hate crime."
But she says society doesn't recognize it as a crime, as they do a robbery or a shooting. That's especially true when there is little evidence of physical harm, she says.
"This is a crime in which the culture colludes, denying that it exists," says Walsh. We call it a misunderstanding, we call it bad sex. Well, it isn't. It is crime and it has long- reaching effects."
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Sexual Assault Information Page
- "Friends" Raping Friends--Could It Happen to You?
- The National Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCASA)
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.