Mental health articles

How do women react to being raped?
Some people argue that it is not possible for a man to rape a women unless she cooperates, for example by lying down and staying quiet during the rape. In fact, most women do put up resistance and many manage to escape the rapist in this manner. However, a rapist can overcome a woman by sheer physical strength. Sometimes, a woman is so scared that she fears resisting because the rapist might hurt her even more.
Typically, a woman goes through a series of emotional reactions as a result of being raped:
• Shock and anger are often the first reactions. The woman may be tearful, shaking with fear and
anger, and unable to understand what she has just experienced.
• Some women may appear calm and controlled; this does not mean that they have coped well with the rape.
• In the days and weeks after a rape, the woman may blame herself, fear being killed or harmed, feel dirty, and have repeated thoughts of the rape, nightmares and sleep problems. Physical complaints such as aches and pains, loss of appetite and tiredness are also common.
• Later, the woman may develop a fear of people and of situations similar to those in which the
rape occurred. She may have fear of or loss of interest in sex and repeated nightmares of the rape.This is similar to post-traumatic stress disorder

• In the end, the majority of women recover but not without having suffered ill effects for a long
time. In a few women, though, frank depression can occur and will need treatment.

 

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Tags: rape