# A morbid question about gang rape
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-morbid-question-about-gang-rape/583865
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 31, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-morbid-question-about-gang-rape/583865 "2011-05-31T16:59:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-morbid-question-about-gang-rape/583865/21 "2011-06-01T18:06:11Z")
It’s also possible that this occurs in narrative more often than in real life because it makes a sort of emotional sense, or did at one time: a woman who has been severely sexually violated is tainted, and because it’s a genital-taint, it “makes sense” that it would impair fertility. It’s the final insult to injury if you have a melodramatic tale of victimhood, and the last vicious slash of karma if the rape was some sort of narrative about justice. (That sounds terrible, but when someone’s mother is talking about what happened to a FOAF who did whatever bad thing, that’s what it is).
I’m not saying sexual trauma can’t cause infertility–that’s been answered by much better informed people than I–but just a reason why this particular consequence might be so oft repeated.
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### Author:  [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-morbid-question-about-gang-rape/583865/22 "2011-06-01T22:36:39Z")
> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> Bold mine.
>
> I think that psychological damage has to be considered even if it seems at first like it shouldn’t matter in this biological process. But even the female orgasm can help fertility and that ability can be effected by past sexual trauma. Many infertile couples trying to get pregnant sometimes follow strict guidelines of the most fertile time to have sex without success, once they stop, or perhaps give up trying to have a child they finally get one.
And many don’t - they remain infertile even though the are loving and fully orgasmic partners. And some achieve fertility through medical intervention without an orgasm in sight.
In the particular case you’re quoting, she wasn’t able to identify all of the 20+ men (or even acurately count them, that figure is from the evidence gathered by the police), so she feels unsafe forming a relationship with anyone in case they were one of her attackers. Moving cities didn’t help as the gang has a presence throughout the country.
The men who attacked her were from her own social group and family. Her cousin drugged and gave her to the gang as price of his admission. He or other family members may give the gang her location at any time, just because they now consider her ‘theirs’.
It’s not a psychological infertility, it’s a physical one from the mutiple fistulas, organ damage, infections etc. The psychological trauma is just another thing she gets to live with because her cousin wanted to be a tough guy.
This wasn’t some political weapon in a far off land or an interesting study to gather opinions. It was four days of torture committed within a kilometre of my home and I’m sorry I posted about it.
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