[doug from upland]

A rape survivor is a rape victim who will not let herself feel like a helpless victim. (at least, that is how I understand it)

[MaxMax]

I keep thinking about what it may mean and I can only surmise that
it means a woman survived being raped by not being raped.
Much like a murder survivor or plane crash. Survivor implies
surviving otherwise certain death or other.

/Salute

[LibertyRocks]

Yep, you’ve got it correct, Doug. A survivor is one who refuses to be a ‘victim’. We are victims at the time these things occur, but yet we survive, and go on to live another day... THAT is why we are survivors, and not victims. It is a way to take back the power that the perpetrators try to take away.

This term is also applied to Child Abuse Survivors, and other ‘victims’ of crimes as well. Being a victim is not a good mindset at all when you have experienced these things in your life because it prevents you from healing from the experience.

[janereinheimer]

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.

[piytar]

A rape survivor is a rape victim who will not let herself feel like a helpless victim. (at least, that is how I understand it)

Better answer then mine! Well said.