Impact of Rape and Sexual Violence on the Relationships of Survivors

Dear Colleagues,

Rape and sexual violence are traumatic experiences with devastating and long-lasting consequences for the survivors. For thousands of years, societies have regulated human sexuality, which is often at the center of creating wonderful connections, but also has a strong power to hurt individuals and pose complex challenges in terms of the creation and maintenance of healthy social relationships. Rape and sexual assault spare no age bracket nor social context: they constitute serious public safety and health issues. A great body of scientific literature has focused and shed light on the psychological and physical impacts of rape and sexual violence on survivors, and there is also a growing interest in their impacts on relationships.

Indeed, studies have shown that the survivors of rape and sexual violence can suffer social stigma, and even rejection. The stigma comes from social norms surrounding sex, as well as multiple myths through which societies can try to make sense of such horrible acts. Attitudes reflecting minimization, denial, blame of victims, shame, and humiliation create a complicated social environment for survivors. Rape and sexual violence are transgressions of personal boundaries and dignity, shuttering the ability of survivors to trust and connect safely with others, and leading to self-protective coping, including setting rigid relationship boundaries and self-isolation. Moreover, survivors are often made to feel judged and unrelatable, particularly in those cultural and religious contexts that place a high value on virginity and sexual purity, also causing further shaming and isolation. Unfortunately, this can silence victims who come to fear the social consequences of reporting sexual assaults and avoid seeking the necessary social support.

As noted in the current literature on rape during armed conflicts, consequences of rape and sexual violence are more complex in wartime as such assaults are usually committed with extreme atrocity and are often coupled with other forms of violence imposed on the victims, including the collapse of their support system, the death of loved ones, and poverty induced forced separation from families and home communities. Worse still, in some war-afflicted regions, rape and sexual violence are used as weapons of assault against the social fabric of enemy communities; therefore, these violent acts not only affect the victim, but also their families and communities, leading to experiences of trauma at various relationship levels and intergenerationally.

This Special Issue aims to capture a global picture on how the survivors of rape and sexual violence experience social relationships based on contextual aggravation and, perhaps, protective factors. We seek to highlight the challenges faced and needs presented by survivors as they rebuild trust and a sense of safety in social interactions and relationships. We welcome a variety of expertise, while encouraging multidisciplinary and collaborative thinking.

Dr. Buuma Maisha
Guest Editor

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