Rape Survivors and Court Sessions - Essay Example

From the survivors’ intimate contacts and daily experiences, it came out how they handled interaction and the specific manner in which they attempted to meet the cultural expectations.

It was however hard to compare between white and coloured women due to a small number of women of colour in the sample. The preparation made by the survivors was however not determined by the racial or ethnic background. Understanding the role played by race in rape prosecution also involves researching how the survivor’s behaviour is influenced by their understanding of various elements. These could be cultural stereotypes concerning rapists and their victims and race relations. A positive addition to research in future about the participation of survivors in rape litigation would be interview questions centring on the race aspect.

There was a wider variation in educational background and socioeconomic status in the study sample. However, using these two indicators, the class differences among the women did not result in any significant variation in their preparation techniques. Highly educated women, as well as the less educated ones both, took part in the full range of activities involved in preparation. It however appeared that class status contributed to the particular nature of role research and team building. Just like with race, it would be worthwhile to put more attention to the role played by class in shaping the preparation by survivors.