I need help with a word, other than “Victim” or “Survivor” for sexual assault. Any help is appreciated.
Are you trying to maintain the gravity of the situation? If so, I would gather that “Recipient” is out.
Target? Assaulted individual?
People on the receiving end of criminal activities are generally called victims.
Not-dead?
Vetran?
This page has 189 synonyms for “victim;” the majority seem derogatory.
I understand that, I am looking for something different, and yes, maintain the gravity of the situation.
That was the first word I thought of.
I’d like to think I’d go for the max irony/drool:
“Beneficiary” or “Other Participant”.
If I had to play it straight, “Target” would get my vote.
Is there anything you can tell us about the context? This would help us work out what might be appropriate as an alternative.
This is entirely too cutesy, but had to share:
Assailee
Neither cutesey nor, I believe, correct: you want assailed, as in the assailed or the assaulted. Note that you have assailant, not assailer.
Any noun will sound like the rape and its aftermath define the victims identity. A verb does not have that defining effect. “I was raped/ assaulted/ abused, and…” is better.
Also better is a focus on the perpetrator. “In college, a drunk friend did’t want to hear no, and he was too heavy to fight off” paints a picture of the rapist, not of the victim.
It’s apparent the OP is uncomfortable with the connotations of both “victim” and “survivor”. Without the OP telling us what connotations he/she *does *want we can’t really help.
Any substitute word will either have active overt connotations, or will be read as having connotations by omission. i.e. the soft-pedal euphemism that minimizes the gravity versus the loaded term that emphasizes it. “Neutrality” is very much a matter of taste.
Would “object of sexual assault” be closer to what you seek?
rape-players?
sex-denier?
unconsentual-sexorcista?
How about “the offended party?”
You have me beat.
All I could come up with was “Case Hardened”.