The word rape originates from the Latin verb rapere: to seize or take by force. The word originally had no sexual connotation and is still used generically in English. The history of rape, and the alterations of its meaning, is quite complex. The Latin term for the act of rape itself is raptus.

Rape is a form of assault involving the non-consensual use of the sexual organs of another person's body. The assailant can be of either sex, as can their target.

Rape is generally considered as one of the most serious sex crimes that can be very difficult to prosecute. Sexual violence can also be a war crime under international law. Consent may be absent due to duress arising from the use, or threat, of overwhelming force or violence, or because the subject is incapacitated in some way such as intoxication and/or underage innocence. In some cases coercion might also be used to negate consent.

There is no universally accepted distinction between rape and other forms of assault involving one or both participant's sexual organs.

Historically, the rape of males was more widely recognized in ancient times. Several of the legends in Greek mythology involved abductions and sexual assaults of males by other males or gods. The rape of a defeated male enemy was considered the special right of the victorious soldier in some societies and was a signal of the totality of the defeat. There was a widespread belief that a male who was sexually penetrated, even if it was by forced sexual assault, thus "lost his manhood," and could no longer be a warrior or ruler. Gang rape of a male was considered an ultimate form of punishment and, as such, was known to the Romans as punishment for adultery and the Persians and Iranians as punishment for violation of the sanctity of the harem (Donaldson, 1990).

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The trauma of rape can permeate into all areas of the victim’s life, like the dropping of a pebble into a pool of water; the effects are like the ripples it creates, into unseen and unfamiliar depths.

Possible Feelings and Emotional Responses experienced by a target of rape and/or sexual violence are as follows:

Fear

• Repercussions – which may include damage to oneself or loved ones.

• Of being left alone or having to leave loved ones.

• Of ‘breaking down’ or ‘losing control’ in front of others.

• Of a similar assault happening again.

Helplessness

• In a crisis our human powerless becomes more apparent as does our strength.

Sadness 

• For injury and loss of every kind.

• For Pain.

• Why Me?

Shame

• For being exposed as helpless, emotional and needing the help of others.

Anger

• At having no control over what has happened.

• At the perpetrator, rapist, sex offender.

• The injustice & audacity of the attack.

• At the shame and indignity.

• At the lack of proper understanding by others and their inefficiencies.

• Why Me?

Nature heals through allowing these feelings to come out. This will not lead to loss of control of the mind, but bottling these feelings up may lead to nervous and physical problems.

Physical and Emotional Sensations

Physical sensations with or without the feelings described are not always but sometimes due to the rape or act of sexual violence, even if they develop many months after the incident.

After being raped it is common for the victim to experience intense, and sometimes unpredictable, emotions, and they may find it hard to deal with their memories of the assault. Victims can be severely traumatised by the assault and may have difficulty functioning as well as they had been used to prior to the assault, with disruption of concentration, sleeping patterns and eating habits, for example. They may feel jumpy or be on edge. In the month(s) immediately following the assault these problems may be severe and very upsetting and may prevent the victim from revealing their ordeal to friends or family, or seeking police or medical assistance. This may result in PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Symptoms of this are:

• Feeling numb and detached, like being in a daze or a dream, or feeling that the world is strange and unreal.
• Feeling as though the brain has been hi – jacked with the rape taking up 100% of the victim’s thinking time.
• Difficulty remembering important parts of the assault.
• Reliving the assault through repeated thoughts, memories, flashbacks or nightmares.
• Avoidance of things, places, thoughts, feelings that remind the victim of the assault.
• Having panic attacks.
• Anxiety or increased arousal (difficulty sleeping, concentrating, etc.).

Victims may respond to the rape in either an expressive or a controlled way. The expressive way involves obvious outward effects and emotions such as crying, shaking, rage, tenseness, ironic and uncomfortable laughter (part of their denial), and restlessness.

When a person has been raped there are many consequences for them to bear and one of the most traumatic is contracting either a sexually transmitted disease, if female, becoming pregnant or both. How an individual reacts to either of these situations is their choice, possibly assisted by those they trust.

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Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault is where a perpetrator spikes an intended victims drink with a drug. Because most DFSA drugs dissolve quickly and can be produced as colourless, odourless and tasteless – a victim can ingest it unknowingly.  Within 10 – 20 minutes a victim can become ill, disorientated or very sleepy and unable to move or think clearly. If the drink has a content of alcohol then the drugs effects can be intensified. The effects can last anywhere from 2-24 hours and can leave the victim incapable of remembering what happened.

Rapists and sexual predators use drugs as a way to overpower their targeted victims in order to sedate them, causing them to be incapacitated and unable to fight back. Unfortunately, these drugs are easily accessible, some are legal for use for another purpose and so are therefore readily available and inexpensive.

Certain drugs are sometimes used to assist a sexual assault. Sexual assault is any type of sexual activity that a person does not agree to. It can include inappropriate touching, vaginal penetration, sexual intercourse, rape, and attempted rape.

Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault is where a perpetrator spikes an intended victims drink with a drug. Because most DFSA drugs dissolve quickly and can be produced as colourless, odourless and tasteless – a victim can ingest it unknowingly.  Within 10 – 20 minutes a victim can become ill, disorientated or very sleepy and unable to move or think clearly. If the drink has a content of alcohol then the drugs effects can be intensified. The effects can last anywhere from 2-24 hours and can leave the victim incapable of remembering what happened.

Rapists and sexual predators use drugs as a way to overpower their targeted victims in order to sedate them, causing them to be incapacitated and unable to fight back. Unfortunately, these drugs are easily accessible, some are legal for use for another purpose and so are therefore readily available and inexpensive.

Certain drugs are sometimes used to assist a sexual assault. Sexual assault is any type of sexual activity that a person does not agree to. It can include inappropriate touching, vaginal penetration, sexual intercourse, rape, and attempted rape.

Because of the effects of these certain drugs, victims may be physically helpless, unable to refuse sex, and can't remember what happened. The drugs often have no colour, smell, or taste and are easily added to flavoured drinks without the victim's knowledge.

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