Thread by @MichaelGLFlood

Unacknowledged rape: the sexual assault survivors who hide their trauma – even from themselves
theguardian.com/society/2021/a… 1/6

Large numbers of women have had experiences that meet legal definitions of rape and sexual assault but don’t label it as such. It can take years for survivors to realise or accept that their experience amounts to sexual assault or rape, if ever. 2/6

A 2016 analysis of 28 studies of nearly 6,000 women and girls aged 14+ who had experienced sexual violence found that 60% of survivors didn’t label their experience as “rape”. Instead, they used descriptors such as “bad sex” or “miscommunication”. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15… 3/6

Women may not describe coerced experiences as rape because: They don’t fit the (inaccurate) stereotype of physically violent stranger rapes. The situation may be ambiguous. Problematic but widespread understandings of consent and coercion that... 4/6

Women may not describe coerced experiences as rape because: Problematic but common understandings of consent and coercion that legitimate men having sex with women when they’re asleep or too drunk to consent. Men’s non-physical coercion of women into sex is widely accepted. 5/6

Because of: Short-term benefits of not acknowledging rape (but long-term harms). The stigma attached to being a victim of sexual violence. Being in an ongoing relationship with the perpetrator. Concern about impact on him. The sense that society will condone it or blame her. 6/6