Girlfriend is unusually close to her rapist? *may trigger*

So my girlfriend was raped by her brother when she was younger. I get that they are family and will see each other. I get being civil about it. However they seem a bit closer than i would assume in this situation. I would think she would be uncomfortable being alone with him but thats not the case. I would have thought close contact would be as well but its not. They laugh and seem very happy together but then later tells me how she hates him. She'll go out of her way in certain ways like putting food in his mouth at the table or acting interested in his day or hobbies. For someone you hate this seems strange. Obviously my opinion and assumptions might be wrong but i always assumed a rape victim would want to keep a little distance but instead to some extent it seems the opposite. If memory serves me right im pretty sure shes even walked around the house in her underwear with him around. If he did it once he could do it again but she seems like shes not worried at all. With how close they are ontop of it, im worried theres something else going on. Shes even called him a pet ?name by mistake once which got to me a bit. It just seems like a weird and uncomfortable situation to me and im not sure how i feel about it. Any advice would be helpful

It may be that she both loves him as a brother and wants to have a normal sibling relationship with him, but also hates him for what he did to her. The dichotomy of a love/hate relationship is not uncommon when sexual abuse occurs within families. It's part of the damage that's been done.

Some people try to sweep it under the rug and normalize things, so as not to deal with the hate and other negative emotions. Others can't get past the hurt and hate and mistrust, and cut off all contact. Some people are in the middle and may vacillate back and forth or have a partial relationship, depending on circumstances.

There is no "correct" response, any of the above may be valid and appropriate for that person. It also depends on how and when the abuse occurred. was it violent or loving, was it forced or voluntary, was it between kids or was an adult involved, was it repetitive or a one-time thing. Lots of variables and complexity.

For society in general, looking in from the outside, it may seem like the relationship logically should be ended. But it often isn't that simple, and emotions play a very large part. The ties that bind, as they say, truly are strong. Familial bonds are among the strongest.

My advice would be to listen and be supportive. If you suspect that he is manipulaing her or is being dishonest or presents a threat, you can tell her that and explain why, but realize it's her choice and decision, as to what the relationship will be.