Lisa is a thirty-four year old women with two children, a boy and a girl. When Lisa was fourteen, she was raped by her uncle and she never received therapy for it. Not receiving therapy has changed her life drastically. Lisa ,although a good mother, suffers from depression,tends to drink a lot more than she should, and suffers from anorexia. Because of this, her social life is unstable. She finds herself yelling when she should not, isolating herself from the world and even disassociating herself at work. Lisa used to be an extrovert, the life of the party. She yearns for the life she had before the rape. She is hesitant to seek help, due to the lack of support the system provides to rape victims that are not minors, but she knows all these effects could have been avoided if she went to therapy. Therapy and support should be provided to rape victims because without support , victims run the risk of depression, without the proper help, rape victims can be a risk to themselves and to others, and without the proper psychological help, substance abuse rates increase.
When discussing the topic of rape,depression, a common effect,
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Several studies have shown that rape trauma victims have one of the highest risks of developing PTSD and related conditions (Vartan 1). Although soldiers experience tragedies on the battlefield for their countries, the battle rape victims go through begins when they are raped, but it never ends. Because the battle never ends, rape victims face a constant struggle within themselves. This struggle may include eating disorders or suicidal attempts. Rape survivors are also 13 times more likely to attempt suicide than not crime victims and 6 times more likely than victims of other crimes. (Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, 1992) 26% of women with bulimia nervosa were raped at some point in their lives. (Sexual Assault Statistics