Evidence that symptoms are common among rape victims is not relevant if the symptoms are equally common among nonvictims. Some argue that only evidence that symptoms are more common in victims than nonvictims is relevant to whether a rape occurred. These symptoms are both common in rape victims and more common in victims than in nonvictims. Several studies have found that rape victims report more symptoms of PTSD than nonvictims and victims of other types of traumas.Īlthough case law tends to focus on PTSD, several other symptoms are also common following a sexual assault, including fear, anxiety, depression, health problems, and substance abuse. Current PTSD prevalence rates among victims raped several years previously range from 12% to 17%. Studies suggest that the vast majority of rape victims meet the criteria for PTSD immediately postrape and that approximately 50% continue to meet the criteria at 1 year postrape. The DSM outlines very specific criteria that must be met for individuals to be diagnosed with PTSD: (a) They must have experienced a traumatic event that involved actual or threatened death, serious injury, or threat to physical integrity and react to that event with intense fear, helplessness, or horror (b) they must report a specified number of symptoms involving reexperiencing the event, avoidance, and heightened arousal and (c) the symptoms must last for at least 1 month and cause clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning.
RAPE TRAUMA SYNDROME MANUAL
Indeed, rape is an example of a traumatic event that can lead to PTSD as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association. RTS is sometimes referred to as a specific type of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in expert testimony, case law, and legal commentary. Although the term RTS continues to be used in legal decisions and commentary, subsequent research has conceptualized rape trauma in terms of specific diagnoses and symptoms rather than stages of recovery. Victims often moved during this phase, and trauma symptoms (e.g., nightmares, fears) were still common. The second (reorganization) phase began 2 to 3 weeks after the rape.
Physical (e.g., muscle tension) and emotional (e.g., fear, self-blame) symptoms were common during this phase. Based on interviews with these women, Burgess and Holmstrom described an acute phase of the recovery process, which was characterized by a great deal of disorganization in the victim’s lifestyle. Their model was a description of symptoms observed in a sample of 92 adult female rape victims seen in a hospital emergency room. The term rape trauma syndrome was first coined by Burgess and Holmstrom in 1974 to describe a two-stage model of reactions to rape among adult rape victims.
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Nonetheless, expert testimony on RTS generally is admissible, particularly when it is offered to educate the jury (versus to prove that a rape occurred). Judicial decisions regarding the admissibility of RTS testimony have varied because of differences in the specific nature of the testimony given as well as changes over time and across jurisdictions in rules regarding the admissibility of expert testimony. The specific nature of the testimony varies from case to case but often includes a description of the common effects of rape and an opinion that a particular complainant’s behavior is consistent with-or not inconsistent with-having been raped. It is most often used by prosecutors in sexual assault cases to counter a defendant’s claim that the sexual contact in question was consensual. Rape trauma syndrome (RTS) is a topic about which experts testify in legal cases.
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