THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RAPE ON WOMEN

Abstract

Rape is the most morally and physically reprehensible crime in a society. It is an assault on the body and privacy of the victim which lives permanently in her body, mind and soul, the pains, sadness and regrets which invariably creates psychological problems to the victim. The objective of this work is to expose the psychological effects that rape victims can suffer as a result of rape encounter. The methodology used in this work is doctrinal and the findings of this work is that female rape victims suffer a lot of psychological effects of a permanent nature especially the pains and hurt of seeing their victims not punished due to the secretive nature of the Nigerian society not to report rape to avoid being labeled as such which have consequences when the victim is known to her. The work recommends for strong advocacy in letting victims report cases of rape against them and pursue same to its logical end. The work also recommends for more research work on the psychological effects of rape cases on the academic performance of secondary school students in Nigeria.