Why Would a woman who was raped be afraid to tell a jury in court about what happend.?

by **pannoowau** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:10 pm

If her lawyer has been practicing law for 28 years and has put down hundreds of criminals and knows how rapist think and how to help law enforcement if the rapist does try to do something about her telling them about what happend.

by **andor25** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:17 pm

Because the lawyer of the defendant will attack her integrity, call her a slut, investigate her personal life with a microscope.....etc.

by **dickens93** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:19 pm

It's not about her lawyer. It's about the shame and fear she's feeling from the horrible psychological trauma she's been through.

by **muireach** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:27 pm

The rapist may have friends who are willing to assault, rape or murder her if she testifies. It's hard to protect her against people who look for an opportunity to attack her. Also, testifying will bring the whole gory mess out into the public attention, where she will end up being the victim of unwanted attention and cruel comments from others, even maybe get fired.

by **tate8** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:28 pm

It may bring up bad memories for the victim.

by **lazaro94** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:38 pm

If I was the lady I could imagine I would be scared to tell someone what happend due to repercussions from the rapists friends or family, or she might just want to blank it out of her memory as reliving it in her mind must be so hard and upsetting

by **andor25** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:46 pm

If I was the lady I could imagine I would be scared to tell someone what happend due to repercussions from the rapists friends or family, or she might just want to blank it out of her memory as reliving it in her mind must be so hard and upsetting

Because she may be embarassed that the rape happened, or she knows it'll invoke flashbacks or horrid memories of the event, if she remembers that it happened (consider Rohypnol?). The victim may also irrationally think that her attacker will have the chance to rape her again if she testifies against him. There may also be the possibility that she loves the rapist (her husband or boyfriend) and she doesn't want to see him convicted, although that's much less likely.

by **kienan** » Tue May 22, 2012 8:03 pm

There is STILL a stigma from being raped. Many, many people believe that the victim somehow brought it on herself (or himself, men can and do get raped as well as women). The defendant's lawyer will ask if she ever encouraged her rapist, or had any sort of interaction with him. The lawyer will ask if she flirted with him, what she was wearing, and whether she was using alcohol or other drugs. In other words, the defendant's lawyer will try to make the rape look like a misunderstanding or like it was consensual sex, and that the woman regretted it the next day.

It's very hard to talk about traumatizing experiences. Many people can't do it without breaking down, and this is embarrassing, to say the least. And it's quite possible that the rape victim just doesn't want to deal with anything relating to the rape.

by **teyrnon72** » Tue May 22, 2012 8:14 pm

Fear of humiliation, being judged. Most rape victims feel guilty for what happened to them as if it was their fault. The defense attorney will do everything in its power to underline that the victim was 'asking' for it to happen or consensual rough sex gone wrong etc., etc. This is the main reason why only a small percentage of true rape victims come forward in the first place.

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