Sexual assault is a public health problem that affects everyone in society. Sexual assault in adulthood or childhood have adverse implications not only on the victim but also on the whole society, and the victim’s friends and family. The victims of sexual abuse often face extremely challenging and painful experiences and emotions. Every victim of sexual assault respond to traumatic events in different ways unique to themselves. The impacts of trauma can be short or long term following sexual assault. It has several probable effects that can be longtime with severe adverse impacts on the economic well-beings of societies, communities, families, and individuals. In addition, it influences crime, employment, education, and health ( Renvoize, 2017). This paper seeks to discuss the effects of sexual assault and treatments for its victims.
Effects of Sexual Assault on the Victim
The immediate psychological consequences that victims of sexual assault face are diverse especially children. Examples of these effects include grief, withdrawal, isolation, confusion, and denial, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, guilt, anxiety, nervousness, fear, and shock. These effects are chronic and affect their ability to adjust throughout their development. Additionally, sexual assault in has negative effects on particular developmental processes including coping mechanisms, cognitive style, and emotional regulation, which has long-term consequences. Studies have found that sexual assault is a huge risk factor in the development of social adjustments and psychological problems in the long term that can go over into adulthood and impact on their parenthood and married life ( Coles, Lee, Taft, Mazza & Loxton, 2015).
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Sexual assault affects all areas of a victim including physical, emotional, and psychological. The physical effects of sexual assault include soreness, difficulty walking, vagina or anal bleeding, bruising, pregnancy, sexual transmitted diseases and infections, and dislocated or broken bones ( Coles, Lee, Taft, Mazza & Loxton, 2015).
The mental effects of sexual assault include inappropriate sexual behavior, psychological distress, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (anxiety, severe anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks), self-doubts, suicidal attempts or thoughts, and self-incriminating thoughts. Depression include loss of interest or energy in activities that an individual enjoyed previously, weight gain or loss, unexplained crying, feelings of hopelessness, and prolonged sadness. Dissociation including poor concentration on schoolwork or work and not feeling present in the daily situations ( Ng, Yong & Ho, et al., 2018).
The emotional effects of sexual assault include loss of control, numbness, shock, anger and blame, changes in trusting others, fear, sense of vulnerability, helplessness, disorientation, feeling that these reactions are a sign of weakness, guilt/self-blame for “allowing” the assault to happen ( Ng, Yong & Ho, et al., 2018).
Other effects that a victim of sexual assault can experience include problems with their fertility and menstrual cycle, alcohol or drug abuse as a way of coping with the devastating feelings. Additionally, a victim may develop a negative outlook and feelings of unworthy or damaged of a better life. Moreover, a victim ma experience changes in eating and sleeping patterns, involuntary shaking, muscle tension, shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, and sexual dysfunction ( Ng, Yong & Ho, et al., 2018).
Treatments
Sexual assault can cause a person to experience trauma. Dealing with such a traumatic event can be very challenging because sexual assault can often be overwhelming, which can reduce the ability of a person to cope with stress they trigger. The traumatic responses can be felt for months or even years after sexual assault. It is always recommended for victims of sexual assault to seek medical advice and treatment to help in treating symptoms of PSTD ( Newman, 2018).
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that occurs after individual witnesses or experiences a life-threatening event such as sexual assault among others. There are two PSTD treatments available including medication and psychotherapy. Psychotherapy involves an individual meeting with a therapist for counselling. Trauma-focused psychotherapy is a type of psychotherapy treatments commonly used in individuals experiencing trauma. Trauma-focused psychotherapy focuses on the memory or meaning of the traumatic event. This is regarded as the most effective treatment for PTSD. Trauma-focused psychotherapy is divided into two major types of treatments. This include prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Prolonged Exposure (PE) involves talking about the trauma repetitively until the victim finds the memories no longer upsetting. This helps an individual to gain more control of their feelings and thoughts about the trauma. In addition, it allows a person to do safe things or go places that you have been avoiding because they remind you of trauma ( Itzin, 2018).
Cognitive Processing Therapy involves a victim learning skills to have understanding of how trauma altered their feelings and thoughts. Changing their way of thinking regarding trauma can change the way a person feels. In addition, it encompasses providing education and information regarding PTSD symptoms the influence of thoughts, and the role of avoidance. Anxiety management such as relaxation and slow breathing, engaging in regular exercises, and reducing use of stimulants such as coffee. Gradual exposure to memories related to trauma can help a person face their situations and overcome their fears. Another type of psychotherapy treatment includes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) that focuses on hand or sound movements as a person talks about the trauma. It assists the brain to work through the traumatic memories ( Itzin, 2018).
Moreover, PTSD can be treated with medications, which are effective too. Medications such as serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) used for treating depression also treat PTSD. Example of these medications include venlafaxine, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline (Gilmore et al., 2018).
Sexual assault may cause a victim to experience disbelief and shock that they have been terribly violated. The person may become incredibly sad that they were sexually assaulted. They may feel vulnerable and weak and thus develops self-incriminating thoughts and self-doubts. In most cases, victims of sexual assault are looked upon with some degree of doubt and suspicion. The society tends to blame the victim of sexual assault for various reasons. They feel that the victim was responsible for what happened to them because they put themselves in an unsafe position such as “leading on” the perpetrator, dressing in a provocative way, drinking alcohol, and being out late at night. The society makes it seem like the victim is to blame for sexual assault act because if they had self-protection, they would have been assaulted. If a victim experiences the feelings of self-doubts and self-incriminating thoughts, they can be provided with counselling. Counselling involves use of emotion-based interventions and responses as well as mindfulness. Intense emotional responses can affect the ability of a person to rationalize. A lack of coping skills can lead to self-harming behaviors in various forms such as having self-incriminating thoughts that can prompt people to harm themselves. Counselling helps a person to have a better understanding of mind-body communication in relation to emotional response (Gilmore et al., 2018). Therefore, counselling plays a huge role in treating self-doubts and self-incriminating thoughts by providing a person with coping skills and improving their self-esteem.
Sexual assault is a public health problem that affects not only the victim but also friends and families of the victim, as well as the broader society. Sexual assault causes adverse impacts on a victim including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, isolation, withdrawal, confusion, denial, guilt, anxiety, shock, fear, and nervousness. The treatments available for treating PSTD, self-doubt, and self-incriminating thoughts include psychotherapy that involves cognitive interventions, emotional interventions, and educating victims about the symptoms of PSTD and how they can acquire coping skills.
References
Coles, J., Lee, A., Taft, A., Mazza, D., & Loxton, D. (2015). Childhood sexual abuse and its association with adult physical and mental health: results from a national cohort of young Australian women. Journal of interpersonal violence , 30 (11), 1929-1944.
Gilmore, A. K., Granato, H. F., Simpson, T., Pinsky, H. T., Orchowski, L. M., & Resnick, H. (2018). After the Assault: Effective Treatments for Survivors. In Sexual Assault Risk Reduction and Resistance (pp. 175-193).
Itzin, C. (2018). Psychoanalytic psychotherapy after child abuse: The treatment of adults and children who have experienced sexual abuse, violence, and neglect in childhood . Routledge.
Newman, M. (2019). Violence against Women: Group Treatment Mental Health Strategies in the Integral Women's Centers in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 2017.
Ng, Q. X., Yong, B. Z. J., Ho, C. Y. X., Lim, D. Y., & Yeo, W. S. (2018). Early life sexual abuse is associated with increased suicide attempts: An update meta-analysis. Journal of psychiatric research .
Renvoize, J. (2017). Innocence destroyed: A study of child sexual abuse . Routledge.
