Fear Of Reporting Rape Essay

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A few reasons a person may not report a rape includes: denial, fear of the legal system, fear of retaliation, guilt and blame, personal matters and victim-offender relationship. Due to denial, victims do not report rape because they may not be sure if it was rape. In order for a victim to come to the decision of reporting rape he or she needs to realize it was rape. Some victims do not realize it was rape due to the issue of less violence (Burgess et al., pg.376). The victims who report their rapes are the ones who acknowledge it was rape and the rape that occurred was more violent (Burgess et al., pg.376). In other words, the rapes that included more violence included acts such as being held down, slapped around and seriously injured while on the other hand less violent rapes may include verbal abuse so victims may not acknowledge this is still rape even if they were not seriously injured (Burgess et al., pg.376).
In addition, fear of the legal system is another reason of not reporting rape. The legal system can alter the victim’s decision to …show more content…

Retaliation can include sharing personal photos with others, spreading rumors that will affect her in the future, etc. (Burgess et al., pg.339). The guilt and blame is a factor that contributes to not reporting rape. Research conducted by (Frese, Moya, & Megias, 2004) suggests women feel guilty and blame themselves because they believe it was their actions or their attire that contributed to the rape (Burgess et al., pg.377). Their guilt and blame may also come from friends and family, their friends and family may ask questions that may have to deal with the people who were invited or if the victim was drinking with someone he or she knew or did not know. The victim begins to believe it is their fault and maybe if they take certain actions, the rape would not have occurred (Burgess et al.,

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