Article by Marisa Kabas: What is ‘second rape’ and what can we do about it?

I was interviewed by Marisa Kabas, a talented writer for Fusion.net, and below are some excerpts from her article and interview with me, along with other rape experts about the reality of second rape, which is the emotional aftermath, elongated court hearing, and investigation which further re-traumatizes the victim and exacerbates Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

"Greenspan-Goldberg explained how the attorneys defending the alleged perpetrators try their best to throw victims off their game and make them wish they hadn’t reported the crime in the first place. She recalled a patient who was so beaten down by the system, 'she thought it was not worth it.' That she had to go to the jail, that she had to see a lineup of different men and point out the right one, made it almost unbearable. 'You have the initial trauma and then the re-traumatization,' Greenspan-Goldberg said."

The Stamford student mentioned in this article, talks about defending herself from the onslaught of questions that were set out to attack her integrity and details of the rape. I could just imagine how vulnerable, fearful, exposed, violated and infuriated she was at the perpetrator, his father, lawyer and the leniency of the sentencing. 

During the process of this "justice," she unwittingly became re-traumatized by reliving the experience through the constant re-telling during the court proceedings over the course of a long year. This is a very shaming process for the victim because the burden proof falls on her, and thus creates a delay in her mind, body and spirit's healing and recovery. 

To take away from one of many rape stories, it is life saving to stand up, advocate for yourself and to become more of an activist to not only make a difference for yourself but to also make a change for the next victim. 

See the rest of the interview and article in the link below:

http://fusion.net/story/322651/second-rape/