Hate Crimes
Secondary
victimization as a Bias Crime
Rape
as a hate crime
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Overview:
The
Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation states that
"A hate crime, also known as a bias crime, is a criminal
offense committed against a person, property, or society
that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias
against a:
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Hate crimes involving sexual
assault can be based on any of the above criteria. One of the lesser
known types of hate crime is a bias crime against someone with a disability.
"Post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) is a stress-related psychological disorder that can
cause its victims great problems in coping with daily life."
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia
Rape in and
of itself is not a bias crime but mistreating people because they
are suffering from rape trauma syndrome is.
Stigmas such as suffering from
rape related PTSD result in the person being devalued, lowered in
status, stereotyped and victimized by prejudice and discrimination.
(Margulis, 2003) They also result in further breaches of privacy because
the unstigmatized treat them as objects of curiosity. If the subject
is unable to handle these social interactions they feel embarrassed
and unwanted. (Margulis, 2003) This is known as secondary
victimization or
victim blame.
Most people do not understand
what RTS (rape
trauma syndrome) is or know what the symptoms are. It can be a
difficult thing to comprehend if you have never heard of it before.
Dissociative
identity disorder in particular is usually not spoken about openly.
That does not mean people you know aren't suffering from it. PTSD
is a more commonly recognized aspect of rape trauma syndrome. Other
disorders associated with sexual assault are OCD,
Eating
disorders and Self
injury. The invisibility
of the rape survivor community and the general ignorance of the
nature of rape
trauma syndrome and PTSD
contribute to the frequency of hate crimes and hate speech against
rape survivors. The public's unfamiliarity with dissociation,
dissociative
identity disorder, self
injury and other disabilities suffered by rape victims may be
a contributing factor.
Bias crimes against members
of a certain community are also a problem for rape survivors. The
rape survivor
community is considered to be nearly invisible
to society at large. This contrasts with the estimation that between
1 in 4 and 1 in
6 college aged women will be sexually assaulted within their lifetimes.
The survivor community
is a tolerant community which is visible through the international
network of online
support groups. Members maintain social support networks
and personal
websites which interlink
with one another.
Rape
survivor community testimonials
Secondary
victimization testimonials
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Online resources
Hate
Crimes - Why You Should Care
http://www.civilrights.org/issues/hate/care.html
Discriminating against
someone who is suffering from a disability (such as a mental illness)
has been considered a bias crime since 1994.
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Hate
crimes information from RAINN
http://www.rainn.org/types-of-assault/hate-crimes.html
"Women: Many
believe that all violence against women, including rape and sexual assault,
is a hate crime because it is not simply a violent act, but is "an
act of misogyny, or hatred of women" (Copeland & Wolfe, 1991)...An
individual may not only experience the reactions that often follow a rape
or sexual assault, he or she may also suffer from additional effects brought
on by the attack on their identity...Research has shown that it can take
as much as five years for victims of hate crimes to overcome the emotional
and psychological distress caused by such an attack"
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Don't
Ask, Tell or Respond: Silent Acceptance of Disability Hate Crimes
http://dawn.thot.net/disability_hate_crimes.html
"When I think
of disability hate crimes I am reminded of the song “Mister Cellophane”
from the musical Chicago. Disability hate crimes could be regarded as
‘cellophane crimes’: people walk right through them, look
right through them, and never know they are there. In Somerville, Massachusetts
on October 24th, 2 deaf girls were raped by gang members. One of these
girls had cerebral palsy. A few weeks later then on Saturday 9th of November,
another deaf girl was raped, again by gang members. Again, this week,
another deaf woman was raped in the Boston area. While I don’t wish
to examine any of these cases in particular, I want to raise the question:
when the circumstances indicate that such crimes may be neither random
nor circumstantial, why has no one suggested these may be hate crimes?
"
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Hate
Crimes Today: An Age-Old Foe In Modern Dress
http://www.apa.org/releases/hate.html
"We know from
social science research that the pervasive stigma that people apply to
both mental and physical disability is expressed in many forms of discriminatory
behaviors and practices, including increased risk for sexual and physical
abuse."
"Hate crimes
are message crimes. They are different from other crimes in that the offender
is sending a message to members of a certain group that they are unwelcome.
Preliminary research indicates that hate crimes have more serious psychological
effects than non-bias motivated crimes."
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NAACP
"Congress amended
the Hate Crimes Statistics Act in 1994 to add disabilities as a category
for which hate crimes data are to be collected. ...we know from social
science research that the pervasive stigma that people apply to both mental
and physical disability is expressed in many forms of discriminatory behaviors
and practices, including increased risk for sexual and physical abuse.
The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, a national organization
representing low-income adults and children with mental disabilities,
holds that such hate crimes are motivated by the perception that people
with disabilities are not equal, deserving, contributing members of society,
and, therefore, it is okay to attack them."
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Department
of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/hate_crime/
Regarding disability
bias hate crimes: "Of the 73 victims of this type of bias, 49 were
the subjects of a bias against a mental disability."
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Mental
Health Services for Rape Survivors
For sexual assault
survivors "these negative experiences have been termed "the
second rape" ( Madigan & Gamble, 1991 ), "the second
assault" ( Martin & Powell, 1994 ), or "secondary victimization"
( Campbell & Raja, 1999 ; Campbell et al., 1999 ; Williams, 1984 ).
Campbell et al. ( 1999 ) found that victims of non-stranger rape (e.g.,
acquaintance rape and date rape) were at particular risk for secondary
victimization, which was related to increased psychological distress and
delayed recovery."
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Secondary
Victimization from the Criminal Justice System and Society
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Secondary
victimization of rape victims: insights from mental health professionals
who treat survivors of violence
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Secondary
Victimization
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Journal articles
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Campbell, R., (2001). Preventing
the 'Second Rape': Rape Survivors' Experiences with Community Service
Providers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16 (12) 1239-1259. Find
this in a library
Abstract:
"Although prevention efforts
aimed at eliminating the occurrence of sexual assault are clearly needed,
it is also important to consider how we can prevent further trauma among
those already victimized. Prior research suggests that rape survivors
may experience victim-blaming treatment from system personnel (termed
secondary victimization or the second rape). This research examined how
postassault contact with community systems exacerbated rape victims' psychological
and physical health distress. Findings revealed that the majority of rape
survivors who reported their assault to the legal or medical system did
not receive needed services. These difficulties with service delivery
were associated with both perceived and objective measures of negative
health outcomes. Contact with the mental health system, rape crisis centers,
or religious communities was generally perceived by victims as beneficial.
This study suggests that the trauma of rape extends far beyond the assault
itself, as negative community responses can significantly elevate distress."
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Hate
Crimes and Disability in America
"the findings
and their implications for such issues as alternative manifestations of
prejudice, underreporting of violent crimes, cross-disability
support for hate crime prevention, rehabilitation counseling practice,
and future research directions are discussed."
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Examining
the Boundaries of Hate Crime Law: Disabilities and the "Dilemma of
Difference"
Grattet and Jenness
find that "Persons with disabilities represent one of the largest
minority groups in the United States. Recent research suggests that the
multitude of ways that persons with disabilities are victimized is
pronounced and increasing. However, social scientists and policymakers
have largely overlooked persons with disabilities." (Grattet
& Jenness 2001) Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology NCJRS
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Books and reference
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The
Oxford English Dictionary defines a hate crime as:
* Hate crime -orig. U.S.,
a crime, usually violent, motivated by hatred or intolerance of another
social group, esp. on the basis of race or sexuality; crime of this type;
freq. attrib. (occas. in
pl.), designating legislation, etc., framed to address such crime.
* Hate speech -orig. U.S.,
speech expressing hatred or intolerance of other social groups, esp.
on the basis of race or sexuality; hostile verbal abuse (though the term
is sometimes understood to
encompass written and non-verbal forms of expression). Find
this in a library
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Madigan, L. and Gamble, N. (1991).
The
Second Rape: Society's Continued Betrayal of the Victim. New York:
Lexington Books. Find
this in a library
Bibliographies
Hate
Crimes bibliography
Hate
crime references
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Resources to research
this subject:
Rape
as a hate crime
Journals
and articles
Search
the NCJRS Abstracts Database
Google
scholar or Findarticles
Finding
books at the library
Online
Libraries on sexual assault
Encyclopedias
and Dictionaries
Search terms: Hate
crimes; Minorities ; Bias crimes ; Rape victims ; The second rape ; Rape
survivors ; Sexual assault or rape ; Break the silence ; Handicapped persons
; Discrimination ; Crimes against persons/ ; State laws ; Physically handicapped
; Mentally handicapped ; Socially handicapped ; Discrimination against
disabld prsns; Filial violence ; Personal interviews ; Victims of violence
; Gender issues
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Related links: Victim
blame, Secondary
victimization
The
Just World Theory
Beyond
rape myths: A more complex view of perceptions of rape victims
Benevolent
sexism and reactions to rape victims
Examples of secondary victimization
- also known as survivor bashing:
Secondary
victimization and survivor bashing reports
The
Second Rape
He
told everybody it was consensual- a survivor's story
Survivor's
stories
What
is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?
Victims
of Crime with disabilities
http://wind.uwyo.edu/resourceguide/resources/resources.asp
The Resources Database contains
information on products and services focused on victims of crime with
disabilities. Enter a word or phrase to start searching or refine your
search by making selections from the given options.
If someone verbally or physically
harasses a rape victim or survivor (known as secondary
victimization, survivor bashing or
the second rape) it may be considered a hate/bias
crime or hate speech. For immediate victim assistance call 206-350-4283
or 1 800-879-6682 24 hours a day or fill out this
online hate crime report form. This topic is related to the just world
theory and victim
blame.
http://hate-crime.website-works.com/form_viol.htm
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References:
"post-traumatic
stress disorder." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Scholastic Library
Publishing, 2006 <http://gme.grolier.com> (January 6, 2006).
Margulis, S. (2003). On
the status and contribution of westin's and altman's theories of privacy.
Journal of Social Issues, 59 (2) 411-429.
Margulis, S. (2003). Privacy as
a social issue and behavioral concept. Journal of Social Issues, 59.
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Please learn
about rape trauma syndrome and it's symptoms before you say or do
something to hurt those suffering from it. |
