CopShock: Second Edition
Surviving Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
by Allen R. Kates, MFAW, BCECR
Rape Support
Although figures vary widely, as many as 300,000 women, children, adolescents and men are raped every year in the U.S. Police officers must be prepared to help these badly traumatized people who are candidates for PTSD.
Sometimes police officers who have suffered rape or sexual assault have unresolved issues. If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, please contact your local rape crisis center.
Brazos County Rape Crisis
Center (BCRCC)
Brazos County offers a confidential national
hotline for all victims who were raped, sexually abused or assaulted. It’s
online Information Center features articles on subjects like rape awareness,
what to do when attacked, phases of rape trauma, sexual harassment, stalking,
the road to recovery, regaining control and date rape drugs.
Go to:
http://rapecrisisbv.org. Write:
BCRCC, P.O. Box 3082, Bryan, TX 77805. Phone: For help, call their hotline at:
979-731-1000. You can also e-mail them at reachingout@rapecrisisbv.org
Hope for
Healing.org
This website gives survivors of rape a voice. It
allows survivors, spouses, friends and men who’ve been abused to network with
each other through chat room and forums. The organization distributes a free
quarterly newsletter, provides workshops on prayer journaling as a way to
recovery, and a lending library.
The website also provides information
about PTSD, depression, eating disorders, and domestic violence.
You’ve
heard of the AIDS Quilt. This group is creating the Hope Quilt for Victims of
Sexual or Domestic Violence. If you wish to add your “story,” please visit the
website for details.
Go to: http://www.hopeforhealing.org.
Write: Hope for Healing.Org, 153 E. Broadway Blvd., #113, Jefferson City, TN
37760. Phone: 865-933-8769.
If you are looking for counseling, please see
the next item called RAINN.
If you need a suicide helpline, please call 800-273-8255.
Rape, Abuse and Incest
National Network (RAINN)
RAINN operates a toll-free
twenty-four hour confidential hotline for victims of sexual assault in the U.S.
When someone phones, the call is immediately routed to the nearest rape crisis
center. RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization, and
carries out programs to prevent sexual assault, help victims, and ensure that
rapists are brought to justice. On the website are
facts, articles and
health issues about rape.
Go to: http://rainn.org.
Write: RAINN, 2000 L Street, NW, Suite 406, Washington, DC 20036. Phone:
202-544-1034. Hotline: 800-656-4673, extension 3.
Sexual Abuse of
Males
Prepared by psychologist Jim Hopper of McLean Hospital
and Harvard Medical School, this far-reaching website focuses on sexually abused
boys, male survivors of sexual abuse and recovered memories.
Go to:
http://www.jimhopper.com. E-mail: drhopper@jimhopper.com.
See also: Domestic Abuse
For
more resources about rape.