Why being raped *IS* just as bad for a prostitute. A simple analogy.

To all the people who think that being raped is not so bad for a prostitute, and that offenders should be treated more leniently.  Generally the reason given for this is that prostitutes engage in sexual conduct all the time, so therefore sex within the context of rape is not so traumatic.

I would like to offer an analogy to show that just because you do something all the time, having it done against your will is traumatic no matter what it is.

Most of us can swim.  Most of us don't mind diving under the water, in fact most swimmers enjoy it.  If you're the kind of person who enjoys swimming, or even if you don't enjoy it so much but you can get under the water if you have to (to rescue your phone from the bottom of a pool for example) try to compare the voluntary going under the water and coming up for air at your leisure, to being dunked by an arse-hole who does not know when to stop.

Imagine being pushed under when you weren't ready, and even if you managed to get a breath in, imagine being held under so that even if you wanted to take another breath you couldn't.  Imagine that the person doing this to you didn't think it was a problem, and didn't care about your suffering, hell, even thought it was funny!  Imagine fearing for your life when you realise that you will be be let up for air at the whim of merciless dickhead.

Imagine, after the arse-hole has had his fun, and you're staggering out of the water gasping for air, and cursing obscenities at the fuck-knuckle for abusing you in this way, that someone dismissed your experience with, "Well, it's not as bad for you, you're used to going under water." It wouldn't go down particularly well would it?

A near drowning at the mercy of another person is traumatic no matter who you are.  It may be *more* traumatic if you've never been under water before, I'm not denying that.  The argument is that no matter how many times you've been underwater of your on volition being forced under is traumatic, period.  And no matter how many times you've had sex, whether it be for love or money, being forced to do it is traumatic also.

Some people find this concept very difficult.  It is my profound hope that I have just made it a tiny bit easier. *bows* *crawls back under rock*