Marital Rape

  • Heidi S. Resnick
  • Dean G. Kilpatrick
  • Catherine Walsh
  • Lois J. Veronen
Chapter

Abstract

Recognition of marital rape as a crime with serious and long-term consequences for victims, as well as an important topic of research within the area of domestic violence, has been relatively recent. As Kilpatrick, Best, Saunders, and Veronen (1988) noted, marital rape victims suffer from both legal and attitudinal discrimination that may be based upon underestimates of the scope or prevalence of the problem, the assumption that marital rape is a less serious crime than stranger rape in terms of the levels of violence and perceived threat that may be experienced by the victim, and a lack of awareness of the potential mental health impact on the victim.

Keywords

Domestic Violence Childhood Sexual Abuse Sexual Victimization Battered Woman Rape Victim 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1991

Authors and Affiliations

  • Heidi S. Resnick
    • 1
  • Dean G. Kilpatrick
    • 1
  • Catherine Walsh
    • 2
  • Lois J. Veronen
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Crime Victims Research and Treatment CenterMedical University of South CarolinaCharlestonUSA
  2. 2.Private PracticeMt. PleasantUSA
  3. 3.Human Development CenterRock HillUSA

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