Sexual Violence, Bodily Pain, and Trauma: A History

Abstract

Psychological trauma is a favoured trope of modernity. It has become commonplace to assume that all 'bad events' - and particularly those which involve violence - have a pathological effect on the sufferer's psyche, as well as that of the perpetrators. This essay explores the ways victims of rape and sexual assault were understood in psychiatric, psychological, forensic, and legal texts in Britain and America from the 19th to the late 20th century. It argues that, unlike most other 'bad events', which were incorporated within trauma narratives from the 1860s, the ascription of psychological trauma was only applied to rape victims a century later. Why and what were the consequences?

A Crisis of Care: The Politics and Therapeutics of a Rape Crisis Hotline

“…Like any experience of embodied suffering, it emerges and takes on force and meaning in dialogue with a host of cultural, ethical, and political discourses that address what it means to suffer and what—and whose—pain should be ameliorated” (Dwyer and Santimarma , 405). Scholars on sexual violence have enumerated the many ways that the social and institutional reception of survivors can induce secondary traumatization (Baxi ; Bourke ; Campbell et al. ; Ehrlich ; Matthews ; Mookherjee ; Mulla ; Scheper‐Hughes ).…”

Between Trauma and Resilience

“…In stark contrast, Kaplan argues that by telling and sharing traumatic memories, a certain "working through" and healing of traumatic memory can happen. Joanna Bourke and Ann Cvetkovich 11 have both pointed to the exclusion of women's experiences, particularly in the context of sexual violence, and how large-scale traumatic events such as war implicate the nation-state as a masculinist structure with a vested interest in creating and then disavowing the trauma suff ered by women. Our transnational reading of the German and Bosnian narratives about war rape allows us to engage with the gendering of historical memory while elucidating the duality between women's silencing and their resilience and agency as they formulate their stories.…”

Resilience in Men and Women Experiencing Sexual Assault or Traumatic Stress: Validation and Replication of the Scale of Protective Factors

“…Research regarding sexual assault (SA) typically has been generalized to women and children (Bourke, ; McLean, ; Schry et al., ; Sorsoli, Kia‐Keating, & Grossman, ). Men, however, also are victimized by SA in a variety of contexts including the military, correctional facilities, public education systems, and within families (Aosved, Long, & Voller, ; Clark et al., ; Hoyt, Klosterman‐Rielage, & Williams, ).…”

“…Men, however, also are victimized by SA in a variety of contexts including the military, correctional facilities, public education systems, and within families (Aosved, Long, & Voller, ; Clark et al., ; Hoyt, Klosterman‐Rielage, & Williams, ). Many researchers have called for more research regarding possible gender differences in outcomes of SA (Bourke, ; McLean, ; Schry et al., ; Sorsoli et al., ). Research is limited because only 25% of women and 10% of men report the assault to authorities (U.S. Department of Justice, , ).…”

“…On the other hand, research shows that women who report SA often experience a breakdown in their social networks due in part to victim blaming and discomfort regarding associations with victims (Perilloux et al., ). Due to a lack of research regarding male SA victimization (Bourke, ; McLean, ; Schry et al., ; Sorsoli et al., ), coupled with a lack of research exploring possible gender differences in the outcome of SA, we explored gender differences in protective factors, anxiety, and depression in those reporting SA.…”