HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR PARENTS OF A RAPE VICTIM

If your son or daughter tells you he or she was raped …

1. Believe him or her. Your child has gone through a traumatic experience and needs your support, courage, and love. He or she does not need judgment or blame from you. Your child is the victim of a crime. It took a great deal of courage to tell you.
2. If the rape just occurred, get help immediately. He or she needs to be taken to the nearest hospital emergency room. If the incident happened in the past, be sensitive to the potential need for counseling.
3. Assure your child of your support over and over again. Listen without judgment.
4. Do not try to cover up what has happened, ignore it, or push him or her to get over it. Healing from traumatic grief is a long, difficult process.
5. Recognize that sometimes girls or boys don’t tell their parents about a rape because they are afraid of what their dad might do to them (be angry, ground them, call them names) or to the perpetrator (this is particularly true if the parents know the rapist). You as the parents need to deal with your own anger without complicating your child’s grief process with uncontrolled rage toward the assailant.