1. Chapter Nine

2.  Defining Rape
 Multiple definitions
 May be a discrepancy between the legal definition and
common definition
 Definition used by this textbook-an unwanted act of
oral, vaginal, or anal penetration committed though the
use of force, threat of force, or when incapacitated
 Benchmark Study: National Violence
Against Women Survey (National Institute
of Justice and Centers for Disease
Control, 1998)
 1 in 6 (17%) women and 1 in 33 (3%) men have
experienced an attempted or completed rape (in the
United States)

3.  Underreporting
 Other studies report 15-33% of women and 10-15% of
men experienced an attempted or completed rape (in
the United States)
 3 out of 5 sexual assault victims stated the offender was
an intimate, relative, friend, or acquaintance which
leads to underreporting
 Sexual abuse of children under the age of 12 is rarely
reported
 The Unique Situation of Sexual
Abuse/Rape Survivors
 Crises resulting from sexual abuse and rape differ in
nature, intensity, and extent from other forms of crisis

4.  Social/Cultural Factors
 Four different factors:
 Gender inequality
 Pornography
 Social disorganization
 Legitimization of violence
 Historically, the crime of rape has been seen as:
 A crime against the woman’s father or her husband
 Psychosocial means by which the victors in wars reward
themselves and humiliate their opponents

5.  Personal and Psychological Factors of Rapists
 Acts hostile but often feels weak
 Lacks interpersonal skills
 May need to exercise power
 May show sadistic patters
 Sees women as sexual objects
 Holds stereotypical and rigid views of males and females
 Harbors chronic feelings of anger toward women and seeks to
control them
 Rape as an exercise in power and control
 Four categories of rapists:
 Anger
 Power exploitative
 Power reassurance
 Sadistic

6.  Rape is just rough sex.
 Equating rape and sex is perhaps the most
destructive myth of all.
 Women “cry rape” to gain revenge.
 People do not want to believe that rape really
occurs
 Serves to focus the blame for sexual violence on
victims rather than perpetrators
 Easier to believe than knowing rape can happen
to anyone
 Rape is motivated by lust.
 Rapists are psychotic or weird.
 Survivors of rape provoked the rape.
 Only bad women are raped.

7.  Rape happens only in bad parts of town, at night,
or by strangers with weapons.
 If the woman does not resist, she must have
wanted it.
 Males cannot be victims.
 Homosexuals are usually the perpetrators of
sexual abuse of boys.
 Boys are less traumatized than girls.
 Boys abused by males will later become
homosexual or rapists.
 If a person experiences sexual arousal, this means
it is not rape.
 A female can not rape a male.

8.  Date Rape Risk
 Child sexual abuse is a risk factor for both heightened
sexual activity and sexual victimization in dating.
 Alcohol and drug use (by both the survivor and the
perpetrator) is a risk factor for acquaintance rape.
 Preventing
Date, Acquaintance, and Other
Forms of Rape
 Educational programs, especially at the secondary
school level, have been recommended as preventive
measures in reducing acquaintance rape.
 Results show changes are only short-term.

9.  Empathy
 Builda Working Alliance
 Use Support Systems
 Stop Secondary Victimization
 Police, medical professionals, significant others
 Responses
 May exhibit no emotions
 May feel humiliated
 May suffer immediate and long-term trauma
 May blame themselves
 May be reluctant to go to the police or rape crisis center

10.  Critical Needs
 Continuing medical treatment
 Support system (family, friends, work, etc.)
 Understanding without pressure regarding further
sexual contact
 Critical Supports
 Understanding mood swings
 Ensuring safety without overprotection
 Allowing the victim to make decisions regarding
reporting the rape
 Allowing the victim to talk about the trauma without
disclosing the information to others
 Recognize that loved ones also exhibit issues

11.  PTSD
• Rape ranks second in the potential for
PTSD
• EMDR as a first option for treatment
• Cognitive-behavioral treatment
• Exposure treatment
• Affect regulation
• Cognitive therapy

12.  Psychological Trauma and Sequelae
 Effects on Adult Survivors
 Higher incidence of:
 Depression and anxiety
 Borderline personality disorder and Dissociative disorder
 PTSD
 Social stigmatization and alienation
 Somatic complaints
 Negative self-image
 Revictimization
 Early assault is additive
 False Memories
 Controversial topic
 False Memory Syndrome Foundation
 “Recovered memory” survey

13.  Assessment
 Can be difficult to assess and diagnose due to multiple ways it
may manifest
 Treatment of Adults
 Treat in a similar way to PTSD
 Grounding
 Have the client focus on the therapist and the “here and now”
 Ask the client to describe current INTERNAL experiences
 Orient the client to the current environment
 Use relaxation techniques
 Validation
 Validate that the trauma did occur even if it is denied by the
client’s family
 Advocate for the client
 Reinforce the resourcefulness of the client
 Be a role model to help the client with childhood developmental
tasks

14.  Extinguishing Trauma
 The reduction or termination of a conditioned response as a
result of the absence of the reinforcement
 Prolonged Exposure/Cognitive Restructuring
 Reframing and relearning feelings
 Grief Resolution
 Confrontation
 Changing behavior through skill building and reconnecting
 Support Groups for Adult Survivors

15.  Dynamics of Sexual Abuse in Childhood
 Dynamics of Sexual Abuse in Families
 Intergenerational transmission of sexual abuse
 Female abusers
 Phases of Child Sexual Abuse
 Engagement Phase
 Sexual Interaction Phase
 Secrecy Phase
 Disclosure Phase
 Suppression Phase
 Survival Phase

16.  Assessment
 Therapeutic Options
 Play Therapy
 Cognitive-behavioral Therapy
 Trauma Systems approach
 Affirmationand Safety
 Regaining a Sense of Control
 Education
 Assertiveness Training

17.  Interviewing the Child
 Ensure safety
 Collect appropriate evidence
 Carl Perkins model
 Preparing the Child for Testimony
 Education on the process
 Role play possible situations
 Orientation of the courtroom
 Aftermath
 Counseling
 Placement of the child

18.  Group Counseling
 Boundary Issues
 Group Support Work With Non-offending
Parents
 Preventing Re-victimization
 Individual Counseling
 Session 1: Establishing safe ground
 Session 2: Introducing traumatic material
 Crisis session
 Last sessions: Transcending