Date and Acquaintance Rape
Date rape - A concept which has reached us from the U.S. Rape perpetrated within the confines of a 'date' situation i.e. where the woman has willingly met the man, but then at some stage has been raped.
Acquaintance rape - Rape perpetrated by a person known to the victim, but not a close friend. May be known through employment or general social contact.

Short and Long Term Effects of Rape and Sexual Assault
The trauma experienced by women and girls following rape and/or sexual assault may manifest itself either immediately after the attack or, as is frequently the case, some long time afterwards.

Self Harm
From our perspective, apparently self-destructive behaviour is usually in reality a survival mechanism. Self-harm is often seen as the voice of the silenced or hidden self - it is a way of demonstrating in a physical way feelings which cannot be expressed emotionally. Survivors often keep their self-inflicted injuries secret in the same way as they keep their feelings hidden.

Childhood Sexual Abuse
It is estimated that approximately one in three girls and one in six boys have experienced some form of sexual abuse by the time they reach the age of 16. More than three quarters of children who are abused, know and trust their abuser, whether that may be their Father, Grandfather, Step-father, neighbour, baby-sitter or close friend of the family.

Ritual Abuse
Most sexual abuse of children is ritualised in some way. Abusers use repetition, routine and ritual to coerce children into patterns of behaviour in order to instil fear and ensure silence. Bath-times, nursery rhymes or bedtime stories, gifts, elaborate games, dressing up, taking photographs or exchanging secrets are all tactics which abusers use to gain the trust of a new victim.

About MRC
Manchester Rape Crisis is a confidential telephone help-line counselling service run by women for women and girls who have suffered any form of sexual violence, past or present. We also provide face-to-face counselling for rape and child sexual abuse, but we have far more requests for this service than we can accommodate with our existing resources. We offer an advocacy service and accompany women to the police, to court or to the GUM clinic if they request it, but this aspect of the service is dependent upon volunteer availability.

Rape And The Criminal Justice System
Negative attitudes towards rape are deeply enshrined within the Criminal Justice System. Both criminal procedure and the law of rape are constructed from a male perspective. Common misconceptions such as 'all women fantasise about rape', 'she asks for it' and 'no means yes' shape much of the legal process. To illustrate this, it is necessary to examine the different stages of the Criminal Justice System.

Family and Friends
If you are a friend, supporter or any other relationship apart from partner, be very clear about boundaries, the person you care about has been abused enough, boundaries must be very clear to enable the person to heal. Don't ask them why they didn't fight back or do something to prevent the abuse. This kind of questioning intimates that they were in some way responsible for what happened to them. The blame must always lie with the abusers.

Volunteers
Without the enthusiasm and dedication of our volunteers, we would not have been able to achieve as much as we have, so they need to be applauded.
What Volunteers can expect.
Formal training covering basic counselling skills and specific information relevant to the work of the Line.

Flashbacks
Many women who are survivors of any form of sexual violence experience flashbacks at one time or another. Flashbacks are temporary states of remembering something painful or traumatic which has been hidden for quite some time in the subconscious mind and during a flashback; you may feel as though aspects of the rape or sexual assault are actually happening to you now. The duration of a flashback differs and could last from a few seconds to a few hours.

Forum
There is a forum where survivors can participate in a self help group. The forum is regulated by members of MRC.