Sympathy vs. Empathy

Rebecca Campbell’s piece, “From Thinking to Feeling” stirred up a lot of contradicting emotions in me. From being upset by reading these horrific cases that have and are happening to women, to being happy and grateful that they at least survived to tell the story (as some may say) but furious at how they do have a story to tell.

It was interesting reading how the interviewers prepared themselves conceptually, emotionally and practically but understandingly, seeing how it wasn’t enough. In one-way or another, the stories will be affective because of how relatable and dehumanizing these cases truly are.

            Rebecca talks about how these specific eight interviews were no more significant the total of 100 that they had, they just chose them for this chapter because they made the interviewers “feel rape”.

I can see the context in which this sentence was made, because they related to the women as their mannerisms and daily life routines were similar, but I personally don’t find it appropriate to use the word “feel”. You can feel someone’s emotions and feel their grief, but the actual word “rape” refers to the physical sexual interaction between people and/or use of objects that is without consent.

Unless they experienced sexual assault of the same calibre as these survivors, I personally don’t believe that they “felt” rape. The interviewer’s can sympathize with the survivors, which is a very common and natural emotion for human beings, but being able to empathize is completely different.

            They sympathize with these women by hearing them, crying for them and recognizing that they too are at risk of rape, as it is an act that is not directed towards a certain group of human beings. They are able to share emotions of sadness and emotional pain, and are able to provide comfort but they cannot understand the feeling of the actual experience, the feeling of their bodies being violently and intentionally violated by another person/people.

These survivors are stuck with the aftermath of emotional, physical, and financial trauma (to name a few) and to say that these cases made the interviewers “feel rape” suggests that they feel and live with all of these post-traumatic burdens as well.

I am not trying to undermine their work and the emotions that they experienced in these interview processes because it is instinctive to sympathize especially when they are susceptible to rape as well. In my opinion, it is just scholarly correct to distinguish between sympathy and empathy in cases like these.