This article, as part of the authors' dissertation for her Masters degree, analyzes the experience of rape and the way victims face the problem. It also describes the behavior of the rapist based on the victims' view. Five women, who were being attended in a HIV/AIDS reference hospital, answered semi-structured interviews that were submitted to the technique of content analysis. The results show the vulnerability of woman, not only in deserted places and public ways but also at work and at home. The victims use strategies of liberation and survival at the moment of rape, in face of the rapist who reveals himself as being cruel and cold, with emotional oscillations that may vary from death threats to crying after the rape. Reaching out for assistance constitutes a real via cruxes for the victims. However, despite the traumas, they have demonstrated a profound capacity of resilience.
rape; violence; woman