Early Sexual Assault

Rape Trauma Syndrome has three stages, Acute Phase, Outward Adjustment Phase and the Resolution Phase.17 The Acute Phase occurs after the initial attack (initial shock, anxiety).The Resolution Phase where the assault is no longer the focus of their life and have moved beyond it. The Outward Adjustment Phase is the stage that could last months or years and the one that the military system can affect positively with appropriate mental health care. In the Outward Adjustment Phase an individual may appear normal but have internal turmoil.18 Within this phase a majority of male survivors attempt to process it with two primary coping techniques: Minimization, the “everything is fine” and Suppression, act as if it did not happen.19 Men may use these coping mechanisms based on maintaining society’s definition of a man, so they try to minimize, suppress or internalize their perceived feelings of being weak or less of a man. This may cause anxiety in which they withdraw from relationships and avoid seeking

In “The Invisible War,” it is noted that “women who have been raped in the military have a PTSD rate higher than men who have been in combat” (The Invisible War, 2012). The impact that military sexual assault has on victims is tremendous. Both physical and mental trauma are common, and they play a significant role in how victims of sexual assault are able to return to their daily lives.

In a recent study posed by the CDC, 19.3% of the women’s population in the United States have reported rape (Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence, Stalking, and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization 1). That is nearly one fifth of the female population. While women who walk the streets alone flood with fear, men are being let off with a mere slap on the wrist for raping women. Another study shows that ninety seven of every one hundred rapists receive no punishment whatsoever. How can women feel safe if their perpetrator is freely roaming the streets? Although rapists are frequently punished, the rape punishment in the United States is far too inconsistent and should be more severe.

Existing controlled examinations of intervention efficacy specific to only sexual assault and rape are presently minimal in comparison to intervention examinations of combination or other types of trauma (Regehr, Alaggia, Dennis, Pitts, & Saini, 2013). Psychotherapeutic interventions that fail to differentiate sexual assault and rape victims from other types of trauma victims may decrease the treatment effectiveness or inadvertently harm participants in this subgroup. Trauma associated from rape or sexual assault differs from other forms of trauma and treatment efficacy should be examined in this manner. Trauma from rape or sexual assault entail symptoms of PTSD, depression, suicidal ideations and sexual dysfunction. Individuals may also indicate feelings of vulnerability, loss of control, fear, shame, self-blame, societal blame and stigma (Russell & Davis, 2007; Regehr et al., 2013; Ullman &Peter-Hagene, 2014). This research proposal intends to explore the long term effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) at reducing distress and trauma explicitly for adult victims of sexual assault and rape.

Unfortunately, this despicable crime happens all too often. In fact, an annual number of 321,500 men and women of the United States experience rape and sexual assault, as reported by RAINN. Despite this alarmingly high statistic, the number of reported rapes is equally concerning. Of 1,000 sexual assaults, only 310 were brought to the authorities. Because of this, many victims suffer with the memories of the trauma. Not only is this detrimental to their mental health, but victims who do not disclose their experiences also take on a physical toll. In The Secret World of the Brain, Catherine Loveday states that, “excessive cortisol has also been linked with diabetes, weight gain, cardiovascular disease, fertility problems and dementia” (60). Cortisol is the hormone that is released to induce stress. After experiencing trauma, such as a rape, the human brain produces an ample amount of this hormone, which is what happens to countless survivors of rape and sexual assault especially when they do not report their rape. These are only some of the effects that victims of rape and sexual assault may deal with. This is why it is imperative that victims report the crime to authority. However, there are many factors that influence a victim’s decision to report a rape or keep it a

Existing controlled examinations of intervention efficacy specific to only sexual assault and rape are presently minimal in comparison to intervention examinations of combination or other types of trauma (Regehr, Alaggia, Dennis, Pitts, & Saini, 2013). Psychotherapeutic interventions that fail to differentiate sexual assault and rape victims from other types of trauma victims may decrease the treatment effectiveness or inadvertently harm participants in this subgroup. Trauma associated from rape or sexual assault differ from other forms of trauma; treatment efficacy should be examined once this matter has been taken into consideration. Specifically, trauma associated from rape or sexual assault entail symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicidal ideations and sexual dysfunction. Individuals may also indicate feelings of vulnerability, loss of control, fear, shame, self-blame, societal blame and stigma (Russell & Davis, 2007; Regehr et al., 2013; Ullman & Peter-Hagene, 2014). This research proposal intends to explore the long term effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) at reducing distress and trauma explicitly for adult victims of sexual assault and rape.

DOD data indicates 30% of female and 6% of male service members reported pre-military sexual assault. (Defense Manpower Data Center 2013) A common thread of this re-victimization is that the abuse does not contribute to the risk, but the emotional and behavioral consequences of the initial abuse does. (Arata 2002)

A study conducted by Ullman, S., Townsend, S., Filipas, H., & Starzynski, L. (2007) evaluated the origin of posttraumatic stress disorder. The purpose of the study is to analyze how sexual assaults can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. The study was composed of 1,084 women, who responded to mail surveys about unwanted sexual experiences. The first time the researchers sent out the surveys only 90 percent of women responded. The sample in this study decreased to 636 women after many surveys were thrown out due to missing data and not everyone responded. The researchers focused on women ages of 18 to 71 that had unwanted sexual experiences. Out of the 636 women, only 5% of them were never sexually assaulted (Ullman, 2007). These researchers

The definition of sexual assault is often blurred in today’s society, as the rate of these cases increases rapidly this simple definition seems as if it should be known. In reality defining a specific event or act as sexual assault can be very difficult because of the many situations and different accusations that arise throughout the large number of complicated cases. To reduce the number of these sometimes gruesome cases, there needs to be a goal to look toward while working to reduce this crime. These situations occur for reasons unexplainable to many, but there are certain things that lead to the increased number of sexual assaults. Sexual references sell. Sexuality is advertised more than any other system of persuasion when attempting to sell a product. This does not pertain to the product being sold, in all honesty the product is irrelevant to consumers. The one and only thing that matters to the consumer is the way the item is being advertised, and the most common way of advertising is in a sexual context. This ultimately has a faint place in the increase of sexual assault cases because of subliminal advertising and messaging. Subliminal messages are used to pass the normal lines of perception, and they are usually not detected by the conscious mind but are perceived by the unconscious and deeper mind. This could easily play a role in the increase of sexual assault cases throughout the country, which is most evident in college students because of the large amount of

Abstract: (about 100-125 words). I will argue the fact that Sexual Abuse is one of the most horrifying traumatic event that occurs. There are some people that go through years of their life not even knowing that they were victims of sexual abuse. After the discovery of repressed memory surfacing to the consciousness of the mind, victims or survivors are in total shock. Having to accept the explicit images that pops up from time to time or those which continue to replay in the mind. As victims or survivors must learn how to live life with the symptoms and after effects caused by such a traumatic event. Such damages that the victims or survivors endure ranges from physical, emotional and psychological

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), Sexual abuse is “unwanted sexual activity, with perpetrators using force, making threats or taking advantage of victims not able to give consent. Most victims and perpetrators know each other. Immediate reactions to sexual abuse include shock, fear or disbelief. Long-term symptoms include anxiety, fear or post-traumatic stress disorder. While efforts to treat sex offenders remain unpromising, psychological interventions for survivors — especially group therapy — appears effective” (American Psychological Association).

Adult Sexual Assault: A Trauma Informed Approach (multimedia, 22:48): This film provides an overview on how trauma impacts victims and how law enforcement and first responders can implement trauma informed responses. A facilitator’s guide is also available.

Links among social, psychological, as well as physiological problems and childhood sexual trauma has been reported (D’Andrea, Sharma, Zelechoski, & Spinazzola, 2011; Firestone, Firestone, & Catlett, 2006; Herman, 1992; Streeck-Fisher & van der Kolk, 2000). Traumatic events overwhelm the survivors with mortality threat, a sense of helplessness, powerlessness, and terror, which alter their psychological and physiological responses to stimuli. Three characteristic responses to trauma are hyperarousal, intrusion, and constriction (Herman, 1997). According to Herman (1997), “[h]yperarousal reflects the persistent expectation of danger; intrusion reflects the indelible imprint of a traumatic moment; constriction reflects the numbing response of surrender”

Sexual is similar to combat trauma, like combat trauma, in both events there damage done to the brain and body in both men and women. During the moment of attack, the victim goes into “fight or flight” response. During this time the sympathetic nervous system engages and stimulates a flood of cortisol throughout the system, which elevates blood pressure, heart rate, prompting sweating and hyper-aroused sensory state. This response occurs when danger is sensed. Because the victim of sexual trauma is temporarily rendered helpless to fight or flee, he is overwhelmed; his ordinary adaptations of life break down (Herman, 1992, 1997). The most fundamental psychological element of trauma is a feeling of “intense fear, helplessness, loss of control,

Childhood sexual abuse has long been researched for both its short-term and long-term effects on its victims. Sexual abuse is defined as any sexual act that is done on a child through coercion, and causes lasting psychological impact (Hall & Hall, 2011). Given the importance of psychological development throughout childhood, sexual abuse can hinder the mental health of its victims through the occurrence of other psychiatric disorders. While children should be growing into mentally healthy adults, with the choice of starting sexual experiences at their own pace, they are forcibly exposed to sexual experiences prematurely. This coerced subjection to sexual experiences has been linked to negative psychological effects such as depression, guilt and anxiety (Hall & Hall, 2011). Although sexual abuse is usually linked to multiple degrees of mental health effects, the developmental pathway of childhood sexual abuse is rarely researched on.