The Role of the Victim and
Victim Advocate in
Managing Sex Offenders
Section 2:
Understanding Sexual
Assault from a Victim’s
Perspective

Learning Objectives
 Identify mistaken beliefs about sexual assault;
 Discuss the prevalence of sexual assault and its impact on victims;
 Identify the different forms of intra-familial abuse and some of the family dynamics unique to incest cases; and
 Identify the importance of cultural competency in working with victims of sexual assault.
2 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

“Forced or manipulated unwanted sexual contact between two or more adults or two or more minors, or any sexual contact between an adult and a minor, or between two minors with a significant age difference between them.”
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 3

Myths and Facts
 Most sexual assaults are committed by strangers.
 FACT: 3 of 4 victims know their attacker.
 Assault is avoidable with care and alertness.
 FACT: The attacker is usually someone the victim has reason to trust.
 Sexual impulsiveness or frustration cause rape.
 FACT: Most assaults are planned.
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Myths and Facts
 Sexual assault is only harmful if there is visible physical injury.
 FACT: Victims suffer regardless of whether they sustain visible injury; the violation of trust victims suffer can dramatically increase their level of trauma.
 Child abusers usually find victims in places like schoolyards or playgrounds.
 FACT: 90% of child abusers choose to victimize children they already know.
 Women “cry” rape.
 FACT: Less than 8% of claims of sexual assault are found to be unfounded.
5 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

Myths and Facts
 The majority of sex offenders are caught, convicted, and in prison.
 FACT: A small number of rapes are reported and a fraction of offenders apprehended and convicted.
 All sex offenders are male.
 FACT: The majority of sex offenders are male, but females do commit some sex offenses, particularly against children.
 Youths do not commit sex offenses.
 FACT: 1/5 of rapes and 1/2 of child molestations are committed by adolescents.
6 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

 How does this scenario relate to sexual assault?
 Why are sexual assault victims more frequently blamed and not believed?
 If a victim complies with the offender, does that mean she was not robbed?
 Do people “ask” to be sexually victimized?
 What would be a better, more supportive response to a victim of sexual assault?
7 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

 No one will believe him or her.
 She/he will not be treated fairly by criminal justice system.
 Being blamed because of alcohol or drug abuse.
 Exposing her/his private life.
 Retaliation by offender or others.
 When personal attachment exists, getting the offender in trouble.
 In incest cases, breaking up the family.
 If the victim is an illegal alien, deportation, criminal charges, or the removal of children by authorities.
 Offender will act on previously made threats.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 8

 Failure to recognize coercive sex as assault.
 Failure to identify assault by friend or lover as criminal.
 Memory loss, discomfort with details, or fear of exposing illegal behavior.
 Desire to put the situation behind her/him.
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Physical reactions: soreness, fatigue, nightmares, loss of appetite, etc.
Emotional reactions: mood swings, anger, irritability, feeling of numbness, etc.
Denial or recoil phase: the victim tries to forget, seeks out the familiar, avoids talking about the incident or seeking help from doctors or police.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 10

Psychological reactions: nightmares, fears, feelings of guilt, self-blame, and anger.
Social reactions: Changing of address and disruption of relationships.
Sexual reactions: Fear of sex altogether or an increase in sexual activity.
11 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

Understanding Sexual
Assault from a Victim’s
Perspective
Child and Adolescent Victims of Sexual Assault

 Children do not fit neatly into theories or categories.
 A child’s reaction varies depending on numerous factors including self-esteem levels, family support, etc.
 Signs and symptoms are warning signs and are not definite indicators of abuse.
 The absence of signs does not mean a child’s disclosure is false.
 Children victims are prone to sexual dysfunction and abusive relationships in the future.
 Children are NEVER at fault for abuse perpetrated against them.
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Accommodation Syndrome
 Secrecy
 Helplessness
 Entrapment and Accommodation
 Delayed, Conflicted, and Unconvincing
Disclosure
 Retraction
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 Traumatic Sexualization
 Betrayal
 Stigmatization
 Powerlessness
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 15

Understanding Sexual
Assault from a Victim’s
Perspective
Intra-Familial Sexual Abuse

 The child may still feel love for the abuser.
 Secrecy is imposed by the perpetrator through the use of threats and coercion.
 A child’s reaction to the abuse varies greatly.
 Children may prefer the “special” attention to no attention at all.
 They may consider the abuse as “normal.”
 They may feel shame by experiencing sexual gratification during the abuse.
 Negative emotions may lead to self-abusive or outwardly destructive behaviors.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 17

 Victim feels angry toward non-offending parent for not protecting her/him.
 Victim feels divided loyalty.
 There may be concurrent abuse of the non-offending parent.
 These parents may be previous victims making them unable to identify signs of abuse.
 The non-offending parent may be dependent on the offender (e.g. financially, emotionally, etc.)
 Even with the abuse, emotional ties between family members are still strong.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 18

 Children disclose at great risk to themselves.
 Recanting following a disclosure is a common response by a child victim.
 A child’s style of accommodation or coping mechanisms may be used to discredit their disclosure.
 Non-offending parents may not support the child if the parent is dependent on the abuser.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 19

Understanding Sexual
Assault from a Victim’s
Perspective
Sibling Incest

 Victim has less power.
 Offender may use force, coercion, or threats.
 Victim may prefer the attention to no attention at all.
 Victim may not disclose.
 Parents may feel forced to choose between the offender and victim.
 Victim may not recognize the situation as abusive.
 Non-offending parents may collude with the offender, reinforcing denial or minimization.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 21

 Offenders may be victims of abuse (e.g. parent-child incest) themselves.
 Environment is highly sexualized.
 Difficult to distinguish between exploration and abuse when coercion is not explicit.
 Parents reluctant to recognize abusive behavior.
22 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

 Parents may resent intrusion of others into what they may view as a private family matter.
 Parents should be involved in the treatment of both the offender and the victim.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 23

Dynamics in Partner Rape
 Offenders use a variety of ways to control the victim.
 Offenders try to isolate victim and increasingly demand secrecy.
 There may be a pattern of violence followed by calmness and loving attention.
 Abuse is long lasting, resulting in victim loss of power, self-esteem.
 The victim’s resources and options for escape diminish over time.
 Children, while sworn to maintain secrecy, may act out in destructive ways.
 To the outside world, offenders may present themselves as upstanding citizens.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 24

 Disclosure is difficult because offender uses threats and coercion.
 Victims may choose to endure abuse because it is the least harmful alternative.
 More likely to disclose physical abuse as opposed to sexual abuse.
 May not even recognize violent sexual contact within the marriage as abuse.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 25

 Those who share relationships with the offender or victim may experience reactions similar to victims.
 They need their own support systems.
 They need education to better support the victim.
 The revenge reaction by those close to victim must be dealt with.
 If they were also previously abused, they might be dealing with their own feelings triggered by event.
 Their pain should not be underestimated.
26 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

Understanding Sexual
Assault from a Victim’s
Perspective
Cultural Competency:
Responding with Sensitivity to
Victims from All Backrounds

Understanding Sexual
Assault from a Victim’s
Perspective
Seniors and People with
Disabilities

Older Victims
 Age-related physical conditions may increase a victim’s risk of serious injury.
 Physical coercion can be more easily applied to older victims.
 Older people’s routines and reliance on public transportation can increase their vulnerability.
 Limited income may limit their lifestyle choices and their response to crimes.
 Older victims may be reliant on abusive caretakers.
 They may be reluctant to discuss sexual matters and too ashamed to tell anyone about the abuse.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 29

People with Mental Illness
 The trauma of sexual assault may exacerbate their illness and their symptoms.
 A mental illness can be used to discredit a victim’s disclosure of sexual abuse, especially in the criminal justice system.
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 30

 Reliance on family members or caregivers and limited mobility can contribute to a victim’s vulnerability.
 Communities of people with disabilities can be small and limit a person’s personal care options.
 Predictable routines and reliance on public transportation can also increase a victim’s vulnerability.
 Family members and loved ones may become overly protective of the victim once an assault has occurred.
 After a sexual assault, people with physical disabilities may experience a sense of helplessness and loss of confidence.
31 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

 People with developmental disabilities may not be able to understand the abuse, available intervention options, sexuality, or the engagement in sexual behaviors.
 Their eagerness to be liked can make them easier to manipulate and more vulnerable to abuse.
 They may be reluctant to report out of fear of not being believed or being blamed.
 They may also be reluctant to disclose abuse by an abusive caretaker because they are dependent on that caregiver.
 There are few community resources for those with developmental disabilities who are sexually assaulted.
32 Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective

 Survivors of racism/prejudice/homophobia
 Mistrust of criminal justice/medical systems
 Reluctance to betray her/his community
 Citizenship status
 Language barriers
 Taboos
 Anger
 Gender and sexuality
 Public disclosure
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 33

Conclusion
 Questions
Coming up next:
 Working with Sexual Assault Victim
Advocates
Section 2: Understanding Sexual Assault from a Victim's Perspective 34