A rape survivor is someone who no longer feels the shame of what happened to them because the shame rightfully belongs to the rapist. The guilt and shame do not belong on the shoulders or in the hearts of people who have been raped and once victims are able to let go of inhering those feelings, they will have survived the incident.
What has always amazed me is that even small children who are five or six years old feel shamed and dirty when they have been abused or molested when, in fact, the shame and guilt ought to be borne by the perp. It takes a great deal of counseling to help these youngsters get to the “survivor” point and no longer are victimized.
Thank you so much for your explanation Jane... You put it to words much better than I could.
And yes, you are unfortunately correct about the young victims of child abuse and molestation. It is VERY hard to recover from abuse of this kind as by the time one grows up enough to comprehend what has happened the shame and guilt is almost entrenched in one’s psyche. (I personally think it is because one’s soul realizes the crime that has been perpetrated even if one’s mind is not developed enough to understand it).
It is so very hard to recover from these types of crimes... even with years of counseling the effects are lasting and must be ‘fought’ against and dealt with every day of one’s life. (Yes, unfortunately I am a survivor of this type of abuse as well)