Horrible term I learned only a couple of years ago: the second rape. A difficult term that is not per se about rape. Its about how you are treated after a traumatic event, whether it's rape, violent attack, a car accident, abusive relationship, etc.
The pain of not being believed, of victim blaming, of people pulling away, of legal, medical or mental health professionals not taking you serious, can be more traumatic than the event itself, because these are the people you should be able to trust.
Women, people of colour, disabled people and people with mental health problems who are more likely to be victims of violence are also believed less about their pain.
The trauma of the second rape has been described as more difficult to heal from.
(had to learn about this at work in regard to victims of child sexual abuse and how to help them… because they almost always suffer from this second rape)
