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More handpicked essays just for you.
The impact of sexual abuse on a teenager into young adulthood
Effects of rape on female teenagers
The impact of sexual abuse on a teenager into young adulthood
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After going through and continuing to go through immense pain and searching for answers, it was powerful to hear the stories of both Ruth Tucker and Ruth Everhart. Although Ruth Tucker describes meeting her husband on Word of Life in New York as falling in love with her Prince Charming in a perfect "Garden of Eden", her relationship with the articulate and intelligent young man did not go as smooth as it once promised. However, Satan convinced her to not think deeply or overanalyzes his behavior. He eventually opened up and told her about his track record of being expelled from college and arrested, she was persuaded that this aspect of his being was in his past and he had changed. Thoughts of concern about the man, now minister, were quickly …show more content…
Upon hearing this, my heart went out to hear and all of those who experience such unsafety amongst the comfort of their loved ones and homes. Furthermore, she made us aware of the regularity of domestic abuse and other marital problems within all of our congregations. Despite all appearing seemingly perfect on Sunday mornings, it made me reflect on my experiences at my church and has enabled me to be more empathetic. Before she had mentioned how common it was, I did not realize that their likely is multiple situations within my church and made me desire to be more welcoming and friendly for I was reminded I really do not know what goes on beyond the pews. Moreover, she touched on the shame and confusion of seeking help as her husband continued to be her minister and people finding out would mean him being fired, but getting divorced did not ensure full custody because there was no reason to believe the intelligent minister was capable of this rage and behavior. Eventually she became divorced and found her voice, but hearing her story makes me concerned with who I date. Even though an individual may seem great, it is scary to think of what they are capable …show more content…
On Sunday, November 6, two men with masks broke into her house proclaiming it was a robbery. After having the girls show them around and point everything of value and multiple trips to the car, the man proceeded to take each girl into their bedrooms one by one to rape them. The events happened from midnight until 6 a.m. and left them empty, broken, ashamed, and tied up with speaker wire. Everything the intelligent and extremely nice girl knew about God was over. Shame manipulated her existence as a shadow was casted between her and all those who have not been raped. It was difficult to think about going through such immense trauma while my best friend and support system was receiving the same brokenness. Through playing the blame game and the feeling of being punished by God, she thought of her life as before the rape and after the rape. It is hard for me to imagine a single moment defining my life, specifically one with so much damage effects. To help treat these effects, she raised an interesting perspective about how people and church can react and help those who are victims. First of all, she pointed out that all have to be treated with the same respect no matter what part of their body was harmed. To explain this she used an outline of the difference in reaction someone
Sebold portrays the 1970’s by developing the character of Ruth Connors who represents the rise of the feminist movement. From the beginning of the novel, Ruth is described as a closed-off and intelligent girl whose love of art and literature makes her stand out from all the other student. It becomes apparent to readers that she holds unconventional views over the gender roles of men and women when Susie observes how one day, Ruth was carrying “feminist texts and...held them with their spines resting against her stomach so that no one could see what they were” (Sebold 39). This suggests that Ruth did not want anyone to notice what she was reading as feminist books were not popular since they questioned the traditional gender hierarchy that
In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, Ruth is seen to have depression because throughout the play Ruth is never truly happy. Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. The symptoms that occur with depression are persistent sadness, loss of interest, changes in sleep and appetite, energy level changes, lack of concentration, behavior, anxiety, apathy, hopelessness, discontent, mood changes and self-esteem. Ruth's depression is found throughout the play. The play”A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry demonstrates how depressed and miserable
I wish I could say that we can fins a way to stop the violence, however unfortunately it’s going to happen and we can not stop every person from being abused. But this text allowed us to understand how churches can respond to these acts in an effective way to allow the victim to heal and move forward. Being a clergy or pastor that is helping someone through these trialing times is difficult and White states that ‘ they should expect the feeling helpless, overwhelmed and dis-liked as a regular part of the challenge of this work.” (City of Tamar, 195). When dealing with these traumatized victims they are looking for a way to forget, and as a pastor, clergy or counselor you looking for a way to help cope with the situation. I found that the biggest way to help someone through these situations is empowerment. I agree that it is also important to make sure to help the victim understand that it is not their fault that this happened and that you believe them. You have to build trust with the victims for them to be able to trust that your actually their to
After five years of being raised and living with their grandmother whom they truly loved, the girls had a rude awakening. Their grandmother, Sylvia had passed away. “When after almost five years, my grandmother one winter morning eschewed awakening, Lily and Nona were fetched from Spokane and took up housekeeping in Fingerbone, just as my grandmother had wished” (Robinson 29). This was the final attempt that their grandmother had made in order for the girls to have a normal and traditional life. This is a solid example of how the sister’s lives are shaped by their family and their surroundings. Lucille’s ultimate concern in life is to conform to society and live a traditional life. She wishes to have a normal family and is sorrowful for all of the losses that she has experienced such as her mother’s and grandmother’s deaths. On the other hand, Ruthie, after spending more time with her future guardian, Aunt Sylvie, becomes quite the transient like her.
Rape is devastating to its victims. I feel as if this statement should stand alone, underlined and in bold typeface. It is crucial that we, as a society, come to a deep understanding and awareness of this message. For that reason, I will state it again:
After seeing though the eyes of my pastor I’ve come to realize the importance of faith and committing to one’s beliefs. Returning to church after two massive losses has helped my mother in many ways and it has also taught me as a young man how small things that I could do would turn to have a big impact on someone’s life the same way my pastor impacted my life and the life of my siblings.
When a victim comes forth, it takes a lot of courage. Unfortunately, administration treats them like as if they confessed to a crime to the assaulter. Administration has swept their problem away by suggestions such as advising them not to go to parties, not wear skanky clothes, not to drink, and to sympathize with the perpetrator. This form of victim blaming can discourage them, making them feel worse, like as if they were wrong. “Sasha Menu Courey, the University of Missouri swimmer, told a nurse, a rape crisis counselor, a campus therapist, two doctors and an athletic department administrator that she was raped, but no one did anything about it. Sixteen months after the attack, she killed herself.” stated by Petula Divork, a columnist for The Huffington Post, “You can’t blame sexual assaults on clothing, flirting, binge drinking or parties. Even when you take all that away, there are still smart, clean-cut, young evangelical men who think they have a right to women’s bodies. It’s not about women stopping an attack. It’s about men learning that they never had the right to begin one.”
From what I observed, the theological assumptions was that despite her abusive situation, she was required to stay in an abusive environment because she had always been taught of the sins of divorce. What do you say? How do you encourage a woman to pray to a God who has “allowed” her to live at the hands of an abusive man. How do you tell her that everything will be okay? Then I remembered the comments made by one of my classmates who stated “the woman has to reach a point of being tired and realize her strength.” With this statement now plaguing my thoughts, I realized that her reaching out for help signified her “strength”. It displayed that she was ready to reclaim her life; but the question still lingered, how do you interject “God”. She believed God expected her to survive and cope with her situation in order to remain “obedient”. My theological assumption was she potentially suffered from poor image of self. I don’t believe she understood her dignity of being a virtuous woman, who has value for the simple fact that she was made in the image of God. Being abused by her husband probably provided her with a distorted view of marriage, submission, and God’s intention of hierarchy and authority. I naturally empathized with her, viewing her as a victim who has been victimized on many different facets.
According to the authors of “Enhancing Care and Advocacy for Sexual Assault Survivors on Canadian Campuses”, “Sexual assault has immediate and long-term health consequences for victims including suicide, HIV infection, depression, and social isolation,” (Quinlan, Clarke, and Miller). Another common side effect these victims face is post-traumatic stress disorder. Someone experiencing PTSD may have random outburst of anger, have trouble concentrating on day to day tasks, or may even have flashbacks of their attack. These consequences make it hard for victims to get back into the normal routine of everyday life (“Effects of Sexual Assault”). In a case at Amherst College a young women named Angie Epifano faced many of these consequences after she was raped by an acquaintance in one of the college’s dormitories. While immediately choosing to ignore what had happened to her Epifano soon became an emotional wreck. Before the attack Epifano had believed herself to be an extremely strong and independent individual. In an article done on Epifano’s story she stated “Everything I had believed myself to be was gone in 30 minutes,” (Epifano). Sexual assault takes away a piece of someone. With their hopes and dreams clouded by the tragedy they have endured, victims face a lifetime of
Each year, over 300,000 women are raped in the United States. As a result, 1 in 5 women have the chance of being a rape victim. Violence against women goes in hand as well, as every 9 seconds, a woman is a victim of either violence or domestic abuse. These phenomenons need awareness brought to them so one day these cruel actions will be stopped for good. However, many classrooms do not teach this topic and choose to ignore it for the sake of their educational programs. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, for example, uses rape in the story to enhance the solemn background of the main character, Janie. Many schools have banned this book as it introduces this topic openly. Therefore, although the novel contains controversial topics such
To most Americans Rape has a tendency to be one of the cruelest forms of criminal violence. The victim can suffer from incredible injuries, and substantial amounts of embarrassment. Rendered powerless by physical force, threats, or fear, after which being forced to submit to sexual acts, including vaginal penetration, oral copulation, sodomy, and penetration opening with a foreign object, the victim is left virtually alone. Rape is an intrusion into the most private and intimate parts of the body, as well as an assault on the core of the self. Whether or not the victim acquires any physical injuries, the psychological impact of a sexual assault is severe. Additionally, the painful, post-trauma symptoms that usually always accompany rape are long-lasting. Even the victims who seem to have been able to move on with their life often find that an extreme feeling of powerlessness and vulnerability remains close and can easily, and unexpectedly, be re-experienced. A most important aspect in the long-term impact of rape is that the assault negatively changes the victim...
In more recent years, however, things have begun to change. In the 1970s, the feminist movement began to draw attention to the plight of women who had been raped (Karmen, 2010). With the discovery of the victim’s plight, laws began to be put into place to help convict the offender and defend the victim. Today, rape is still a crime punished by death in some countries, and it is even scorned by other inmates within the walls of a prison (Macdonald, 1975).
Rape is a crime of sexual violence that can cause “long-term emotional devastation” in a victim although some victims may respond to it differently (Williams, 16). Victims of this act can also face physical injuries: “the National Women's Study, funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, found that more than 70% of rape victims did not report any physical injuries as a result of their assault; only 4% sustain serious injuries that require hospitalization” (Frey). But, the most disturbing impact that society puts upon women after being raped is shame making the victim feel blamed. Usually the victim may feel less open and more “fearful” and “humiliated” towards society, making them not come forward and report the crime.
Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our individual selves, if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectations. ( Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie )” Taking a step back, it is clear that rape culture is not a part of our society that will change anytime soon. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize the role that we play in institutionalizing rape. We have become blinded by the presence of sex in the media and there is a lack of awareness in terms of rape in our society. This, in turn, has led to a belief that most rape crimes are more or less victimless. As a society it is time to enact change, promote truly equal gender equality, and create an environment where the victims are free from shame and
Imagine you are a 28 year old woman, and have been working for a Wall-Street bank all day. You decide to go on a run in Central Park to wind down your day. It is a cool evening. The air is lush and Central Park breathes with the energy of New York. It is April 19th, 1989. You start your run off strong. Halfway through your run, you turn a corner and a man steps out from the shoulder. He strikes you with a tree branch. You realize he is dragging you. Everything spins. You cry out for help and howl with pain. You hit your attacker around the face. There is a struggle, but he easily overpowers you. He takes off your clothes and binds your wrists to you head. The blows do not stop. Everything goes black. When you wake up, you are in the hospital and are told you have been raped, and severely beaten. You suffered severe hypothermia, blood loss, a fractured skull, and have been in a coma. You cannot remember what happened that night and you do not remember the attack. You feel alone, ostracized, and overwhelmed. Your physical injuries are nothing compared to the pain that dwells in your heart. This is the story of the Central Park jogger, and this is the reality of rape.