Youth, Citizenship and Empowerment by Helena Helve & Claire Wallace

Author:Helena Helve & Claire Wallace [Helve, Helena & Wallace, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Civics & Citizenship
ISBN: 9781351726573
Google: PLpHDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 38136695
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

After Rape

The typical fear after sexual abuse and rape is that of catching venereal disease and some girls did get a disease from the rapist. The time to waiting for the results of the HIV tests is very risky period for suicide attempts. In these data, a couple of girls also became pregnant from the rape.

In the cases of incest, permanent mental disorders, suicide attempts, alcoholism and drug abuse are more typical outcomes than among the other types of sexual violence. Post-traumatic stress disorders, shame, guilt and fear are long standing, often life-long wounds among the adolescent girls who have experiences of sexual violence. It is also difficult to concentrate at school when having been abused or raped. If the girl has tried to forget the abuse and violence, it easily comes into her mind when having sex with future boyfriend(s). Rape can also break up the relationship with a partner who cannot support or understand the girl’s way of handling the trauma.

The most important person to help in managing after sexual violence seems to be the mother of the girl. Many of those who call the help centre are the mothers of raped girls and they need help themselves too. The daughter’s rape activates the mother’s own experiences of sexual violence and if she has had this kind of experience, she needs to try to work through the trauma in order to help her daughter. Therefore, a mother is a very important resource in coping with this kind of trauma.

The most damaging situation for the girl is if her mother (and sometimes father as well) blames the victim or does not believe her. This is the case especially in many incest cases. The mother thus makes her daughter’s sexual abuse by her own partner invisible. If the girl does not trust her mother, she will not tell her about her experience and may remain alone with her trauma. She has to work through the trauma perhaps for her whole life, in the worst cases in hospital or in prison.

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