by Elizabeth Eagleton

Created on: June 30, 2008

How can people in this society think that any person, male or female would be an irresponsible victim of rape? There are many types of rapes for example, mind rape is when an individual consumes your inner self and controls every aspect of your life. Physical rape is both emotionally and physically harmful. Rape can also blossom in the office for example, when a co-worker steals your new ideas for the project and gets a tremendous bonus for a job well done. Rape, in essence, is a incomprehensible act and those who relish in this mentality harbor severe psychological problems.

One example of rape that I know of via a friendship and is very personal in nature, lets call her Michelle. Michelle had just recently left her husband due to child abuse of her 2 year old daughter. Michelle was under too much stress and had to provide for her children. Michelle had a full-time job at a cleaning company and worked weekends at a food service hut at a major club in the area. One evening Michelle was alone in her apartment and the kids were at her mothers. She was totally exhausted and went to bed around 11:30 p.m. She thought she was dreaming when she could not breathe and it was as if a pillow was being pushed onto her face and she felt very lethargic as if she were drugged. During this so called dream she felt pressure but could not get up. Needless to say, she awoke at 4:00 a.m. and her pillow was on the floor, her nightshirt was above her breasts, her underwear were down to her ankles, and someone left an unwelcomed deposit on her stomach and mouth. She did not see her attacker and lived in fear for a long time. After this occurrence she became mentally ill and had to seek help for depression, anxiety, and visual delusions.

These horrible acts leave the victim in peril and have major consequences imposed on their lives. Take the example above for instance, Michelle was in a locked psychiatric ward for two months because she could not handle life no longer coupled with the child abuse and future divorce of her husband. Michelle has been delusion free for fourteen years and is doing quite well. The pain and suffering is over for her and she is moving on with her life. It takes a long time to get over a situation such as this one. She is thankful for my friendship and her family supports her in every way that they can. She was not irresponsible in any way...she just wanted a good nights sleep, a way to keep her family afloat, and to be happy...not irresponsible.

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