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August 4, 2015

The
Repetition
Compulsion:
Why
Rape
Victims
Are
More
Likely To
Be
Assaulted
Again
Farahnaz Mohammed

In a society where the subject of rape

is still taboo, the idea of even one
attack is hard to grasp. The idea of
multiple attacks seems far beyond
probability.

This makes it unimaginably hard for

the considerable number of victims
who do undergo multiple sexual
assaults.

It’s not an unusual phenomenon. A

little known fact is that being sexually
assaulted puts you at a much higher
risk of being assaulted again in the
future, as does childhood sexual
abuse.

Sometimes referred to as
revictimization, it is not exclusive to
sexual assault. Victims of domestic
violence are more likely to undergo it
a second time. Even robberies and
burglaries seem to be self-
propogating (and significantly so.
Being robbed once places you at a
nine times higher risk of being robbed
again, and being burgled means you
have four times more reason to lock
up your house.)

Being sexually assaulted greatly

increased the risk of future assaults,
with one study purporting that being
sexually assaulted once meant a
woman was 35 times more likely than
others to be revictimized.

“The percentage of women

who were raped as children
or adolescents and also
raped as adults was more
than two times higher than
the percentage among
women without an early
rape history.”
– National Intimate Partner
and Sexual Violence Survey,
2010, CDC

What contributes to this devastating,

but common pattern?

There are several theories, and it

varies from woman to woman.
Women who were sexually abused as
children have learned silence, and
may be unable to enforce appropriate
boundaries, given their childhood
experiences. Some theorize that it is a
way of attempting to master anxiety
or trauma. Some suggest that
traumatization may cause some to
revert to familiar patterns, despite
whatever pain it may cause. And some
others suggest that women who have
been assaulted early learn to associate
sex with pain and trauma, and
therefore are less likely to be able
to distinguish between consent or
coercion.

Despite the relative devastation of

each crime, we’re far more likely to
offer sympathy to repeat victims of a
burglary. It is easier to imagine being
appalled when someone, once again,
comes home to a broken window. Yet,
we’d be more skeptical if someone
claimed that they’d been raped a
second time.

With rape, it can be more difficult to

grasp in part because of the culture
surrounding sexual assault. A victim is
very often disbelieved once. After
multiple instances, a forced sexual
encounter is seen as their fault, be it
the way they dress, the way they
conduct themselves or how much they
drank. An easy answer is to assume
they are trying to cover up regretted
sexual encounters, or that they
misunderstand the concept of rape.

The stigma against rape contributes to

women’s compulsion to repeat their
traumas. Chris O’Sullivan, Senior
Research Associate at Safe Horizon,
explained that one recurring theme
throughout his research in the area
was that women were likely to take
responsibility for the original assault.

“They were so full of self-

blame and shame from the
original assault that they felt
unable to act on their own
behalf during the later
sexual assault
victimization.”

Sullivan also emphasized that

revictimization, despite its nature, was
never the victim’s fault.

Women may take years to recover

from a sexual assault. Being
assaulted multiple times can
compound the trauma. Sexual assault
victims are much more likely to suffer
from depression, attempt suicide,
develop PTSD, self-harm or use
maladaptive coping strategies such as
eating disorders or substance
abuse. The repetition compulsion is a
phenomenon that still confounds
researchers in terms of successful
interventions, but that doesn’t mean
that informal, but steady support from
friends or family won’t be effective in
any victim’s recovery process.

To learn how to support a rape victim,

or to get help yourself:

RAINN offers a hotline for victims

or friends & family, resources on
how to seek help and a list of
international organizations.
Pandora’s Project is an online
network for survivors of sexual
violence.
Take Back The Night has online
resources and communities, and
organizes events internationally
for survivors and advocates.
Featured image: Photo by flckr user
Christian, licenced under creative
commons

Farahnaz
Mohammed
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