Comparative Case Study; Two Rape Cases from Same City and Their Lasting Effects

Abstract

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Rape is one of the most common offences against women in especially in country like India. The statistics of the rape in India are deeply shocking.  As per statistics a woman is raped in India in every 15 minutes. The number is even more negatively astonishing when we take this into consideration that only 1% of rapes are reported after all. The staggering number has its roots in deeply settled misogyny, and patriarchal mindset that women are objects of mere consumption. It has made its way into the general populace, regardless of gender and age. Also, Child sexual abuse is a common and a serious public health problem in every society. It not only leaves a permanent scar on the mind and the body of the victim, but also put her entire family into shame and humiliation. Generally, in most of the scenarios the incidence of sexual assault cases is never reported to avoid social stigma and the number of reported sexual assault also is the only tip of the iceberg. 

II. RISK FACTORS INFLUENCING IMPACT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

A range of factors can influence the impact of sexual assault, including:

1. The Victim/Survivor's Relationship to The Perpetrator
2. The Extent and Severity of Any Accompanying Psychological Or Physical Abuse
3. The Severity of The Abuse
4. The Extent of Physical Harm
5. The Length of Time Over Which the Abuse Occurred
6. The responses of family and friends of the victim/survivor
7. The woman's experience of the various systems (health, police, courts etc.) with which she may have contact following the assault.
8. The personal history of the victim/survivor (Daane, 2005)

III. INTRODUCTION OF CASES

This case studies are about a case of two Rape victims native of Meerut, U.P, belonging to various age groups who suffered physically and mentally in their own ways in which one Girl age 6 year survived with sustained lacerated injury over the posterior wall of the vagina at its lower part including perineum, hymen and labia minora of both sides and multiple impact of trauma PTSD and the other one aged 100 year died after battling 15 hours in ICU hospital from intestinal perforation and also leaving the desire for living, out of shame .

A. Detailed Cases Description Of Two Different Rape Victims

IV. IMPACTS OF RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT

There are various impact of sexual assault and rape on physical and aspect of the individual.

A. Physical Impacts Can Include

1. Damage to the urethra, vagina and anus (for some victims of penetrative sexual assault);
2. There can be Gastrointestinal, sexual and reproductive health problems; pain syndromes and eating disorders, especially bulimia nervosa (Astbury, 2006);
3. There is an increased risk of contracting sexually transmissible infections, including HIV/AIDS (Holmes et al., 1996, and Resnick, Acierno & Kilpatrick, 1997)
4. Increased chances of unwanted pregnancy and decisions regarding abortion (Wasco, 2003)
5. There is pelvic pain (Walling et al., 1994, cited in Stein & Barrett-Connor, 2000)
6. Evidence of irritable bowel syndrome is also present (Drossman et al., 1995, and Walker et al., 1993, both cited in Stein & Barrett-Connor, 2000)
7. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and arthritis (Golding, 1994, cited in Stein & Barrett-Connor, 2000)
8. Also, headaches (Golding, 1999, cited in Stein & Barrett-Connor, 2000) and
9. Gynaecologic symptoms; for example, dysmenorrhea (severe pain or cramps in the lower abdomen during menstruation), menorrhagia (abnormally heavy or prolonged bleeding during menstruation) and problems associated with sex (Golding, Wilsnack & Learmen, 1998).

B. Psychological Impacts of Rape

1. Anxiety and intense fear are the primary responses following rape
2. Feelings of low self-esteem, self-blame and guilt can endure for months and years after the assault.
3. Suicidal ideation is more common among victim/survivors of sexual assault than the general population (Stepakoff, 1998)
4. Nightmares and other sleep disturbances leading to PTSD.

Conclusion

Sexual Abuse can be perpetrated in many places, including own home as well as residential, care and nursing home environments. Victims experience emotional, physical, and cognitive reactions to the trauma of rape. Sexual abuse is a common and a serious public health problem in every society. It not only leaves a permanent scar on the mind and the body of the victim, but also put her entire family into shame and humiliation fearing which rape victim hesitates to speak up also and verbalise their feelings leading to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and suffocation.

References

[1] Maria Bevacqua, Rape on the Public Agenda: Feminism and the Politics of Sexual Assault (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000), 29-30. [2] Mary P. Koss and Mary R. Harvey, The Rape Victim: Clinical and Community Interventions (Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1991), 131. [3] http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~ruchitarathi/infoviz-final-caw/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-crime-women/one-woman-reports-a-rape-every-15-minutes-in-india-idUSKBN1Z821W [4] https://www.livemint.com/Politics/AV3sIKoEBAGZozALMX8THK/99-cases-of-sexual-assaults-go-unreported-govt-data-shows.html [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_culture [6] https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/12/429172-ban-offers-condolences-over-death-delhi-student-urges-reforms-deter-violence

Copyright

Copyright © 2022 Ms. Blessy Mathew. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.