Preface: there are three main characters in the story, all three of them in their mid twenties. Two women and one man. For simplicity, lets call them Jane, Sally and John. Jane and Sally have been best friends since childhood and Jane has been in a relationship with John for a very long time. John is good friends with Sally. Even though Sally and John admit they find the other attractive, Jane is fine with it and there's no jealousy involved. Both partners are faithful to each other and would never think to do anything behind the other's back. Likewise, Sally doesn't do anything to get in-between the two, despite her feelings for John.
Somewhere half-way through the book, the big bad, a powerful spirit capable of possessing people, imprisons all three of them. He has immense hatred for all three of them as they were a massive thorn in his side up until this point in the book. He doesn't plan on killing them, however, and you can probably guess what he ends up doing based on the title. He takes control over John and not only rapes John's girlfriend (Jane), but also does the same to Sally, right in front of Jane's eyes. John is fully aware of what is going on, but can't do anything to stop it. All three of them end up deeply scarred from the experience and it influences their future actions and interactions with each other. They end up being saved from the spirit by a third party.
That's roughly what I had planned, anyway. I didn't think I would try to include a rape scene in one of my stories, but given how I characterized the big bad as an irredeemable monster who takes pleasure in causing pain, it would seem fitting for him to do something so horrible.
Rape is obviously a very risqué topic to tackle and I'm not sure if I'm equipped to handle it. The scene isn't taken very lightly: most of it isn't directly "shown", just heavily implied to have happened, and none of it is in any way eroticised. Every second of it is pure horror for all three.
Let's recap: Jane sees her loved one John have his body and his free will taken. Not only does he attack her, but her best friend as well. Both women have a man they both care about be forced on them, and it's not even his fault. He's a puppet being used for a crime, and both women are fully aware of this. Sally's body is used to spite Jane, and despite not having had a choice, feels a lot of guilt and shame for being forced into doing it with her best friend's boyfriend. Even worse, and that's a massive red flag to her, she secretly enjoyed it a bit, which makes her feel even more guilty. John meanwhile is just a tool being used, being put in a situation where he's the one doing all those heinous things against his will and effectively has a front row seat to the crimes of someone else.
Obviously, I'm a bit nervous, but also kinda excited with what kind of opportunities this would open for the plot, but I also don't want to offend anyone, especially not victims of actual sexual abuse. Obviously someone is always going to be offended, I'm just looking for a way to reduce that number. How do I tackle this topic gracefully and tactfully? What are some things I should build on / mention / focus on? How could the characters act from then on? How could they deal with such an experience?
Side note: one thing I kinda fear is that it would demean the main heroines a bit too much - even if that was kinda the goal. The big bad wants to torture them, after all. I worry especially because both of them are shown to be capable fighters, yet they still end up in a horrible situation like that, to no fault of their own.
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