Retraumatized: the long-term consequences of victim blaming
An article I recently read disgusted me to my core. Although the case is still under litigation and additional details are pending release, the article discussed how a teenage rape victim is being blamed for allowing the attack to happen, with “contributory negligence, assumption of risk, contributory fault and/or culpable conduct” (Fonrouge, 2021) attributed to the victim, a 14-year-old student at New Rochelle High School in New York. According to the article, the victim was allegedly “raped in a stairwell by a fellow classmate who had been bullying her for two years,” with the attacker choking and violently assaulting the victim “while she repeatedly said ‘no’ as a security guard stood close by” (Fonrouge, 2021). The alleged attack, which occurred in January 2020, was also caught on camera. The article did not mention any factors indicating the victim was a willing participant or which would have made her responsible for the attack.
In March 2021, the victim sued the high school, claiming they should have done more to protect her, since at the time of the rape, the alleged rapist was already being investigated for his involvement in another sexual assault of a classmate, yet was still allowed to attend classes on campus. Although the alleged rapist was arrested and charged as a juvenile, the school’s insurance company ascribed blame to the victim, while defending the school, stating there was “no negligence, fault or culpable conduct” (Fonrouge, 2021) on their part. After heavy backlash, a representative for the school district blamed the insurance company for the alleged victim blaming, but unfortunately, damage has already been done to the victim, potentially changing the way she is perceived by her peers, the community, the judicial system and even by herself.
Victim blaming and victim shaming is a concept that is destructive, inflicting additional trauma to the victim and potentially preventing future victims from speaking out. However, it is an action that is seen every day in the media, which almost normalizes the behavior. It has been estimated “that approximately 18% of women in the United States have been raped at some point in their lifetime” (Bartol & Bartol, 2021, p. 404-405), although the “actual rate of rape is grossly underreported” (Rousseau, 2021, Module 5, p. 14). With numerous hurdles already in place preventing rape victims from coming forward, the additional trauma caused by victim blaming undoubtedly leaves many victims wondering if the risk is worth the reward in coming forward or pressing charges, especially knowing the trial process can be long and arduous and often with minimal consequences. Additionally, “a victim may feel that by going to trial, her sexual history will be known to the world—which could cause embarrassment or even make her feel more to blame for the sexual assault” (Rousseau, 2021, p. 15). Many victims have also indicated their experience with the law enforcement and judicial system have been more traumatizing than the initial event, referring to it as another assault (Rousseau, 2021, Module 5, p. 14).
According to research, “more blame is attributed to rape victims when they are intoxicated, resist an attack less, have a closer relationship with the perpetrator, and wear revealing clothing” (Dawtry et al., 2019, p. 1269). For example, in the case of Brock Turner, an ex-Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, he barely received any substantial consequences, yet the victim’s name was dragged through the mud. Blame was shifted to the victim, questioning everything from her sexual history, the amount she drank, what she ate that day to what she was wearing, with blame even directed to her friends, asking why they left her alone. Instead of attributing full blame to Turner, questioning why he decided to sexually assault someone, the victim faced an avalanche of scrutiny, seemingly blaming her for the assault, instead of the offender. In one of the most powerful victim impact statements I have ever read, the victim spoke candidly about the effect the assault had on her life, in addition to the blame she unfairly received (Baker, 2016). She stated, “You made me a victim. In newspapers my name was ‘unconscious intoxicated woman’, ten syllables, and nothing more than that. For a while, I believed that that was all I was. I had to force myself to relearn my real name, my identity. To relearn that this is not all that I am. That I am not just a drunk victim at a frat party found behind a dumpster, while you are the All¬ American swimmer at a top university, innocent until proven guilty, with so much at stake. I am a human being who has been irreversibly hurt, my life was put on hold for over a year, waiting to figure out if I was worth something” (Baker, 2016).
Societal perception regarding rape has been developed and conditioned over time, with many widely accepted rape myths “serve to deny and justify male sexual aggression against women” (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994, p. 134). While rape myths “vary across cultures and societies, they consistently involve blaming the victim, exonerating the perpetrator, expressing disbelief over claims of rape, and believing that only certain types of woman are raped. Such beliefs have real-world consequences, and may manifest in jury verdicts, public policy, and interpersonal reactions toward victims” (Dawtry et al., 2019, p. 1269). The impact of victim blaming has numerous real-life consequences, for both the victim and the societal perception. Furthermore, while victim blaming is commonly seen in cases of sexual assault, it is also being seen more frequently in cases involving police brutality. I have been noticing a shift where the victims of police brutality are put on trial instead of the perpetrator, having their past actions, potential criminal history and alleged unwillingness to comply presented as reasons justifying police use of force. The trend is disturbing and damaging, and the impact of normalizing detrimental behavior is damaging to everyone involved.
References
Baker, K. J. M. (2016, June 3). Here’s The Powerful Letter The Stanford Victim Read To Her Attacker. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra#.caxXXyWGK.
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2021). Criminal behavior: a psychological approach. 12th Edition. Boston: Pearson.
Dawtry, R. J., Cozzolino, P. J., & Callan, M. J. (2019). I Blame Therefore It Was: Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blaming, and Memory Reconstruction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(8), 1269–1282. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218818475
Fonrouge, G. (2021, April 20). New Rochelle High School blamed girl for her own rape, lawyer says. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2021/04/20/new-rochelle-high-school-blamed-girl-for-her-own-rape-lawyer-says/.
Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1994). Rape myths: In review. Psychology of Woman Quarterly, 18, 133–164.
Rousseau, D. (2021). Module 5 Study Guide [Notes]. Boston University Metropolitan College.