Sexual assault is a term that is interchangeably applied with the term rape which encompasses forced sexual intercourse done by an acquaintance or a stranger. Sexual assault is a traumatic event which leads to extreme psychological impacts on the victim which could be either long-term or short-term regardless of the sex of the victim. More to these psychological impacts, the individuals may develop rape trauma syndrome or post-traumatic stress disorder which can be categorized as short-term versus long-term responses (Campbell, Greeson, Bybee & Raja, 2008). Nevertheless, people react differently to these events, and therefore, there are no common reactions for the individuals who have gone through such experiences. They are described regarding the different phases that they go through. This paper looks into the impacts of sexual assault on an individual's trust towards their sexual partner.
Researchers such as Marshall, Laws and Barbaree (2013) referred to life after a sexual assault as “lack of relationships” to signify the adversity of sexual assault impacts on relationships. Trust is a challenging thing for someone who has gone through a sexual assault. For most sexual assault victims, it requires an active person who is understanding and patient to deal with them. Sometimes some additional trials and challenges tend to arise after the sexual assault which leads to a problem in their social life (Marshall, Laws & Barbaree, 2013). For most victims, they have claimed to have lost trust with themselves and those who they have a relationship with them as well as family members. For instance, “Childhood Sexual Assault” (CSA) survivors have been reported to develop some kind of fear that has made them reserve emotions or fail to express themselves to another individual. In addition, women with a history of CSA are more likely to have difficulties disclosing and discussing personal concerns with their male partners as compared to the women who have never encountered any form of assault. These victims tend to lose trust with every person around them which leads to isolation from friends and relatives as well as inability to foster new friendships and relationships.
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Trust is seen as a universal struggle whereby each person is wrestling at some point to trust others because of the painful consequences that could result from trusting the wrong person. One of the most devastating instances is when betrayal comes from the people close to us because it breaks trust for one’s sexual partner because they are afraid of having a repeat of the same incidence. Exploitation and seduction by trusted persons and individuals who have a special relationship with the victim have a lifetime impact of dealing with distrust. Sexual abuse perpetrators often use personal affection and kindness to lure susceptible individuals into their snare because they long for love and connection (Campbell et al., 2008). By winning the confidence of their victims, these abusers seek for an opportunity to misuse their trust by abusing them sexually and casting them into useless objects.
Considering that what sets the stage for sexual abuse of the victim is their longing for love and connection, they tend to develop suspicious thoughts. For any person that tries to arouse their inner hunger for intimacy because in their mind, there mind there is a different perception about their intentions (Ullman, 2010). Despite the victim's partner having good intentions, the arousal of deep intimacy longings gives them the idea that there might be another sexual abuse again. Consequently, sexual abuse victims struggle to trust their partners, especially whenever they show care and kindness. Lack of trust in a relationship is dangerous because it leads to a lack of satisfaction and especially in intimacy issues which could lead to a break up leaving the victim feeling neglected and worthless.
In conclusion, sexual abuse has long term as well as short term effects on the victims. A person may be affected physically, emotionally and mentally and hence is a threat to the security and peace of a person and the rest of the society. Individuals who have been sexually assaulted as children are more likely than others to be divorced and less likely to be married. Therefore, sexual harassment is also a significant contributor to relationship breakups and marriages due to issues of distrust. Sexual abuse also hinders women from taking part in democratic and peace processes and post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction. The impacts of sexual abuse linger for long after the occurrence of the incidence and could lead to adverse effects on the victims and society as a whole. Most women lose trust in their sexual partners after sexual abuse and develop a feeling of isolation that lowers their self-esteem. It is from these incidences that women lose their livelihoods, husbands, and families as well as support networks as a result of sexual abuse which in turn leads to shattering of the structures that support community values thus disrupting transmission to generations in future. Children who grow in such encounters may develop that act as their norm thus cultivating immorality in the society. There is a need for leaders to come up with strategies to stop these acts by formulating a zero-tolerance policy. The community also needs to be educated on how to curb the issue of sex abuse by cultivating good morals in their children. For those affected, counselling services ought to recommended to them. They also need to be encouraged so that they can get over the anger and bitterness associated with the vice.
References
Campbell, R., Greeson, M. R., Bybee, D., & Raja, S. (2008). The co-occurrence of childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and sexual harassment: a mediational model of posttraumatic stress disorder and physical health outcomes. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology , 76 (2), 194.
Marshall, W. L., Laws, D. R., & Barbaree, H. E. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender . Springer Science & Business Media.
Ullman, S. E. (2010). Talking about sexual assault: Society's response to survivors . American Psychological Association.
