Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power

Definition of a Victim

• A victim is a person whose right or good has been violated by committing a crime or violating international human rights norms.
• In a broader sense, victims can also include organizations and social groups whose rights or goods have been violated.

Categories of Victims

• Victims of criminal acts
• Victims of power misuse
• Indirect victims (family members, people who helped victims, etc.)

Stages of Sexual Abuse

Stereotypes

• Sexual abuse originates with stereotypes that are a collective inheritance of any society or community.
• These stereotypes are intergenerational and communicated through day-to-day conversations via various agencies of socialization.

Sexist Attitude

• Based on stereotypes, an individual develops a sense of superiority or inferiority.
• Examples of sexist attitudes include beliefs that women are bad drivers, men are good in certain skills, and gays have HIV.

Verbal and Nonverbal Manifestation of Sexism

• Sexism is defined as individuals' attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and organizational, institutional, or cultural practices that reflect negative evaluations of individuals based on their gender or support unequal status of women and men.
• This stage involves discrimination or prejudices that an individual covertly learns, manifesting in various forms depending on geographical location and sociocultural practices.

Acts of Sexual Harassment

• This stage involves the misuse of power, authority, or other resources to induce threat or fear or to trade or bargain with the victim.
• The manifestation at this stage may progress to physically approaching the victim and exerting pressure using nonsexual behaviors.

Forced Sexual Behaviors

• The perpetrator misinterprets the victim's emotional state or verbal or behavioral cues, leading to the execution of sexual behaviors including touching, fondling, rubbing, or rape.

Sexual Violence

• This stage involves forced sexual behaviors that may include violence, leading to intentional murder or inflicting violence to the extent that the victim dies.

Recognizing the Suffering: Rape

• Rape is an act of forced sexual relation, followed by violence, and is the most brutal form of sexual abuse.
• Rape includes the use of physical force, threats, torture, and violent sexual acts, which are unwilling by the victim.

Trauma After Rape

• The strongest traumas for women are probably violence and sexual assault and rape.
• Rape is forced, violent sexual penetration against the victim's will, and without the victim's consent.