The irony of sexual assault
The argument could be made that human sexuality exists for the formation of intimacy and the development of a family. Therefore, to use one's sexuality as a weapon to use against innocence victims is highly ironic. It's also ironic because the caliber of evil needed to perform such a terrible crime is so astonishing, some people literally don't believe Teena's story.
The irony of communal rejection
When a woman finds herself in Teena's position, she would hope for love, support, and understanding, but Teena finds herself left alone in the aftermath. Her community rejects her, subtly implying that Teena is probably making things out differently than they happened. She hears rumors that maybe she was asking for it, or maybe it happened because she was dressed like a slut. These horrible opinions leave Teena hyper-aware of her solitude.
The "Talking Mouth"
Hopefully seeing the rapists convicted will provide Teena with some sort of solace, right? Wrong. Teena learns that to see a criminal convicted, you have to hear a lawyer arguing against the truth. Teena decides the defense attorney is nothing but a paid talking mouth who will lie, cheat, and steal in order to win. She has no choice but to listen to the lawyer as he defends rapists and smears Teena's character. It seems the criminal justice system is traumatic to victims.
The irony of trauma
One of the major components of the novel's plot structure is the complicated issue of real victimhood and trauma. In order for Teena to get the justice she craves, she must betray her emotional health by re-traumatizing herself. Therefore many women never report rape, because the emotional toll of telling others the truth (and being largely ridiculed in the process) is so traumatic that many women choose not to subject themselves to this. This novel is a description of all the ways society punishes women who tell the truth.
The urge to do violence
Teena's character development is finished when she realizes that what she really wants now (having been almost completely disenfranchised in her journey for justice) is to murder her assailants. Ironically, violence untreated has yielded more violence, and we leave Teena without ever learning what will come of her desire to murder her rapists. The novel leaves the question of retribution on the table.
