Abstract
M.A.
The purpose of this dissertation was to gain an in depth understanding of the impact on family functioning post the act of rape upon one of its members. Family members of rape victims either completed a questionnaire or they were interviewed by the researcher. This was solely at their discretion. Their perceptions and experiences were recorded and analysed.
Rape and sexual assault has a definite effect on the social functioning of family members. All of the respondents felt that the rape had affected them deeply and most of the participants believed that the incident had a devastating effect initially. The majority of the respondents sought help from an external source because they felt that they were in need of support. Their family unit was threatened and to regain control of it, counselling was sought.
This counselling was mainly individual in nature but there were certain instances where couples therapy played a role. Not one of the respondents ever attended a group or a family session. This was because there was no support group in place to fulfill this need. All the participants believed that support groups for family members of rape victims was both vital and necessary. If given the chance, all of them would have attended a support group session.
On the whole, literature verifies the results found in this study. Most literature agrees that rape has a serious impact on family functioning post the act of rape upon one of its members. Some families may only have had bad memories but continued to function completely normally whilst others virtually stopped functioning at all and the resultant family unit was forever broken.
Whether the family continues to function normally or that they are unable to cope at all, the fact still remains that the effect of rape on the social functioning of the family is felt to a greater or lesser degree. In most instances, the impact of rape has very traumatic repercussions that should lead to social work intervention.
Dr. E. Oliphant