Absent a Word: How the Language of Sexual Trauma Keeps Survivors Silent

ABSTRACT This paper proposes that the words used to describe sexual trauma leave large gaps between what can be described and what the experience of harm actually looks like. It discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the terms rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, incest, gender-based violence, violence against women, gross sexual imposition, and criminal sexual conduct. It explores the confluence of rape myths, individualism, and linguistic construction on the lived experience of sexual trauma. The paper closes with practical tips for pastoral caregivers who work with survivors.