I read an article a few years ago that I can't again find, that researched the cultural component of rape. People from different cultures and from different times have viewed rape differently, and this has had a much larger effect on how victimized and traumatized rape victims have been. In some times and places (possibly now) rape has been worse than the most extreme torture; and in others it has been no big deal so long as no lasting physical damage was done.
How much of a component in victim suffering due to rape do you think our culture plays today?
It is not the component it once was, but it's still there.
The definition of rape is purposely vague. In the law, we have to divide it into grades of severity, and even define special cases of rape, where force or coercion is not present.
Whether a rape victim suffers more than the obvious injuries of assault, depends on many factors. In cultures where a woman's sexual activity is strictly controlled, getting rape means a woman somehow evaded all those restrictions and left herself vulnerable. It's her fault because she stepped outside the protective curtain. The shaming of a rape victim and her family is a consequence far greater than the physical trauma.
This kind of cultural deterrent for rape victims can only exist when the woman is seen as the property of her family. Her value to the family is as a bride who can form an economic alliance with another family, and as a mother of new family members. Virgin brides are preferred, perhaps because it's believed an inexperienced and ignorant woman is easier to control. A rape victim is greatly devalued on the marriage market. If her negligence contributed to the rape, she is complicit in stealing from the family fortune.
One of the strange aspects of rape, is it is seldom enjoyable for either party. To put it bluntly, where's the fun in sex with a woman who is either screaming and hostile, or catatonic with fear. Something else besides simple sexual lust is in play. In cultures where a woman's sexual activity are controlled by other people, and her personal worth is tied to her sexual activity, rape is no longer about the assailant's sexual relief. It becomes an exercise in power and domination. It's an assault on her and all those who committed to protect her. The rapist demonstrates his power is greater than her family and all society. That's heady stuff.
When sexual control of women were no longer such a big factor in our culture, the power and domination aspect will loose some of it's thrill.