NCJ Number
180721
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: 1999 Pages: 261-275
Date Published
1999
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article presents the views of mental health professionals about the extent to which they believe rape victims are "re-raped" in their interactions with social system personnel.
Abstract
A growing body of literature indicates that many survivors of rape are denied assistance by the legal, medical, and mental health systems. The help victims receive often leaves them feeling revictimized by social system personnel. Most therapists surveyed believed that some community professionals engage in behaviors that are detrimental to rape survivors' psychological well-being. In addition, 85 percent of therapists believed that practitioners need further training on violence against women. Instruction on these issues is typically not provided in graduate school or clinical case supervision; learning how to treat victims of violence often comes through participation in voluntary continuing education programs. These findings add to the literature indicating that the psychological trauma of sexual assault occurs not only because of the assault itself, but also because of society's treatment of rape victims. Tables, notes, references