Views on Sexual Assault Victims
Caitlynn Holobaugh
Social Work 3101
Reflection Paper 1
1
Rape and sexual assaults in the U.S. have been of high interest lately. It seems like social media is blowing up with feminists outraged with the topic of rape. One case that comes to mind as of late is the case of Brock Turner. He raped an unconscious girl outside of a party at Stanford University. He was charged only six months of jail time, only serving 3 of those months. While not every rape case makes it to the national level, rape still happens every single day. So, how does society see rape and does that differ from the way social workers and myself see rape and sexual assault? How does society view sexual assault
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My opinion on rape and sexual assault victims is I truly feel bad for them. I feel that society has truly let them down tremendously. I think that rape and sexual assault victims need someone to speak up for them, and let society know that is it not okay what happened to them, and it is not their fault. I also think that rape victims are vulnerable, especially if they were raped by a boyfriend or family member. Their judgment on trust has been completely altered. If they were raped by a stranger, it only makes them more terrified to be alone.
Social workers play a big role in helping victims of sexual assault. Social workers in the field feel like there is still work to do when it comes to stereotypes of sexual assault victims. They believe that victims are treated differently. Furthermore, some social workers believe that they themselves need more training in the area of working with victims of rape and sexual assault.
There are quite a few values in the code of ethics that I think apply to sexual assault victims. First, service, we have a duty to serve these people who have been victimized. We have a duty to service them in any way we can. Whether it be talking about coping skills with them, or helping them learn to trust others
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After the assault occurs, these people need to somehow get back to their normal life. Social workers need to dig deep into these victims to see who in their life they value the most. Who can these people know they can trust? We also need to understand how the victims view relationships, it may not be the same for all of us. For example, if a social worker were to be raped she may not be so quick to forgive her rapist. But, another victim may not see it that way. They may think that forgiveness is the first step to getting their life back on