Citation

Bergen RK. Violence Against Women 1995; 1(2): 117-138.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12295407

Abstract

This article investigates how women define their experiences of marital rape and cope with the violence. The study is based on in-depth interviews conducted among 35 survivors of marital rape. It found out that women's definition of sexual violence often change over the course of the relationship in a similar manner, from seeing the sexual attacks as an aberrant incident, to redefining the incident as rape, to terminating the relationship with a ¿rapist¿. This study further describes the 6 stages through which women pass in coping with the violence, which include entering a violent relationship; managing the violence; experiencing a loss of self; redefining the violence; ending the violence; and recovering from the trauma. This study, however, gives particular attention to understanding how women manage the violence and redefine their experiences as rape. It concludes by acknowledging that marital rape is a serious problem with very real consequences for the women who experience it.

Language: en