(TW) 8 Ways the Legal System Screws Rape Victims

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

From Cracked.com. (http://www.cracked.com/article_21910_8-ways-legal-system-screws-rape-victims-like-me.html)

Word of warning: This is going to piss you off. No bullshit.

[Redistribute the Rep]

There's a scientific reason most people don't believe rape victims. Certain traumas can be so severe that they actually change the way that your brain processes and stores information. The chunks of your brain responsible for decision-making and memory shut themselves down, for the same reason your computer shuts itself down when the hard drive gets too hot -- you don't want to do any permanent damage. Unfortunately, this means the victim sometimes behaves like they're lying: Police say that rape victims often exhibit the classic behavioral cues of a liar, which makes them instinctively doubt their story, no matter what the evidence says.

...or they doubt victims because we live in a fucking rape culture


I mean it kind of annoys me that the author makes it seem like it's just some behavioral cues on the victims part. A lot of victims of other crimes are traumatized and behave weird afterward, yet they aren't doubted nearly as much as victims of sex crimes