Being a victim of a crime is very difficult, and being a victim of rape is many times harder. The peculiarity of this crime is that very often society blames the victim for what happened, not the rapist. Wrong way, not so dressed, not behaving like that … Few people think, after a burglary, to accuse the owners of having closed the apartment in a “wrong way”.
Such an attitude towards the victim traumatizes her even more, forcing her to remain silent, not to seek justice and not to seek help. But the trauma caused by the rape is very serious. Women who survived this nightmare and did not cope with it subsequently have problems in their sexual life, they rarely create a family, more often suffer from domestic violence, various addictions and workaholism.
What to do?
You need to start accepting your trauma and yourself in it by admitting that you are innocent. Often, even without accusations from the outside, a woman tries to analyze what is “wrong” in her, why it happened to her. This is a road to a dead end. The crime happened because the rapist committed a crime. So blame the culprit, not yourself. You just got in his way. Anger, by the way, is a good way out of a traumatic situation.
Be sure to write a statement to the police! Of course, this is a kind of heroic act: to go there and talk about what was done to you, while nothing has yet healed, either physically or emotionally. Many women do not go to the police, because there they will be “dissuaded” from the statement, again they will not look for the culprit of the crime, but the reason - why the crime happened. They are afraid of sidelong glances, they are afraid of publicity, they are afraid of confrontations. All this is more than understandable, however, many studies in this area show that those rape victims who achieved justice, brought the case to court and imprisoned their abuser feel much better afterwards.
Get the support of someone close to you. Surely, there is at least one person next to you who you can trust, tell everything, ask for help, and he (s) will definitely help. Take this person with you to the police. In parallel with this, seek psychological help. Unfortunately, the trauma caused by the rape is very severe and in most cases it is impossible to overcome it with the help of "kitchen therapy" - intimate conversations with a friend.
It will not be superfluous to change the environment, at least for a short time. Go to rest, but not to a noisy crowded resort, but to a quiet boarding house, rest house or sanatorium. Again, not just one! At first, in general, it is better not to stay alone, therefore, if there is an opportunity to temporarily move to relatives or a friend, take this opportunity!
