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From: elt@astrovax.UUCP (Ed Turner)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Psychological Reactions to Violence
Message-ID: <615@astrovax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Jun-85 13:45:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: astrovax.615
Posted: Thu Jun 13 13:45:27 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Jun-85 04:43:03 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Princeton Univ. Astrophysics
Lines: 43

There has been much discussion in this group lately concerning the severe
psychological consequences associated with the violence of rape and of the
lesser but still considerable psychological trauma associated with
situations which seemed to threaten rape.  Similar psychological problems
(of varying degree) seem to occur for victims of other violent crimes to
judge from stories in the media about the severe depression/anger/fear etc.
which can result from ordinary robberies and muggings.  Indeed, I have the
impression that the psychological counseling of crime victims is a rapidly
growing "field" of psychology.

I cannot help wondering if the severity of the psychological trauma
associated with violence or potential violence is a result of the fact that
the typical victim (or potential victim) has almost no previous personal
experience with violence.  Despite the cliche that we live in a violent
society, consider the following (randomly ordered) facts:
1) Most of us have not been involved in a physical fight since childhood
   (if then).
2) Many of us have never even seen a serious fight, a badly injured person,
   or a dead person (especially if you don't count the cosmetically
   prepared corpses seen at funerals).
3) No war has been fought in the US or Canada in living memory.
4) Even violence against animals is rarely seen; few have even witnessed the
   slaughter of an animal despite having consumed uncounted chickens,
   cattle, etc.
5) The violence we are constantly exposed to is the comic book violence of
   TV and the movies which tends to portray injuries as rather antiseptic
   and easy to recover from.

Thus, I think that the severe psychological problems we have been hearing
about are at least in part the result of the fact that violence is so rare
that being the victim of a violent crime is likely to be an almost uniquely
unfamiliar event in one's life but also common enough that a substantial
fraction of the population will be victimized one or a few times.  Does this
make sense?

Before anyone starts putting words in my mouth, I do *not* think that making
violence more familiar would be a good way of avoiding these problems or that
the psychological problems are any less real/severe/important etc. if the
above conclusion is correct.  It might help us understand how people living 
in other more violent times and places were able to stand it though.

Ed Turner
astrovax!elt