The Negative Effects Of Sexual Assault

An American is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds, and every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Only 310 out of 1,000 assaults are reported, but only 6 out of 1,000 perpetrators end up in prison (RAINN). Although sexual assault is egregious, these perpetrators are less likely to end up in prison than other criminals. The reason that is seems to be that victims do not report their cases. So why are sexual assault victims afraid to share their stories? Victims often do not report their assault because of many reasons, including the fear of reprisal, the belief that the police could not and would not do anything about the case, or because they simply did not know how to approach an official.

The long term psychological effects associated with sexual assault includes, depression, substance use, anxiety, PTSD, and decreased self esteem (Foa & Riggs, 1993; Resick, 1993). The authors of this article supports current literature which proposes that African American children receives inadequate or inappropriate sexuality socialization and sexual abuse prevention in their cultures and families which may affect their disclosure of sexual assault in adulthood (Washington, 2001;Wyatt, 1992).

Victims of sexual assault suffer from a wide variety of mental and emotional issues throughout their lives as a result of the experience. Results can range from depression, anger, feelings of loneliness, and difficulty when trying to formulate relationships of trust (Hyde 45). Victims experience a wide variety of psychological issues as a result of sexual crimes, which they will have to carry with them throughout their entire lives. Also, “Psychological problems can start later in life with changes in behavior- vague fears, feeling unprotected and helpless, nightmares, bedwetting, sleeping problems, fear to loss parents approval/love, need to please others, poor self esteem, anger, depression, withdrawal from activities, daydreaming, difficulty concentrating, behavior problems” (Hyde 47).

There are usually not many reports made about same-sex violence because many were ashamed or thought their situation would not get heard. These individuals feel like their problems would be determined less serious over heterosexual abuse situations. “Lesbian and Gays are more reluctant to report abuse to legal authorities because they fear that they are showing a lack of solidarity among the gay and lesbian community. Many individuals may think there is a difference between the risk factor among heterosexual couples and same-sex couples, however there is no major difference. Also, according to Seccombe (2015) “The rate of abuse in gay and lesbian relationships is similar to or even higher than that in heterosexual relationships, around 25 to 30 percent” (p.322). As we look at the lesbian and gay community we see that they just want to fit in, so this is another reason their stories become unknown. There are many reason to think only woman get victimized, men are victimized, as well. To add, the individuals who describe themselves in the female role are victimized, based on the gender norms where woman should be unassertive and house labors instead of being in the workforce. So, therefore, there is not a major difference or any difference between the risk factors between the heterosexuals and the lesbian and gay intimate

Hate crimes are explained as being crimes that involve perpetration on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin and disability. I was intrigued to learn that hate crimes don’t always involve a feeling of hate, our text states that it may result from violence stemming from prejudice against the group the victim is involved in. I think about the attacks on random homosexuals, they are targeted for their sexual orientation, not specifically because of who they are personally. The main points I gathered from hate crimes is that physical and verbal assaults and threats were the most common type of victimization. Also, the psychological effects the victim goes through are numerous, such as anger, fear, sadness/depression, decreased social interactions and extreme security measures like purchasing a gun in case of another attack. Violent sexual assaults or victims of rape are another form of victimization that results in similar psychological effects as that of victims of hate crimes. However, I learned that there is tendency for rape victims to have suicidal thoughts or attempts. I think this is because of the unfortunate negative myths that surround rape. Some of the myths I learned about were things such as the way a victim dressed may have prompted the attack, or the victim should have had a whistle so that she could have summoned help. I was appalled at these myths, and at the fact that there are even a few people who think these myths are truths is simply

“Did you know that every 98 seconds, an American is being sexually assaulted?”(vaglanos) Sexual assault against every person has come to the concern of our human rights. It is despairing to say that people all over the world deal with these situations or at least know somebody that has. Sexual assault can happen to anyone at anytime,and for the longest time horrific events such as rape and nonconsensual sex have been part of a high crime rate.

Sexual assault is something that can affect people emotionally, physically, psychosocially, psychologically, and even spiritually. As often as it occurs in society, the effects that sexual assault can have on an individual are all relatively similar. Sexual assault is any sort of sexually-based action in which one or more participants have not given consent. Often times, people refer to sexual assault as simply rape, however there are other dimensions to sexual assault which can include unwanted kissing, groping, or touching of any form. Emotionally, victims are conflicted about whether it is their own fault or if it the fault of the attacker. In many instances, the victim will blame themselves for what has happened to them. Physically, there is nearly always damage in the affected areas (vagina, anus, penis, breasts, etcetera) that can lead to painful tissue damage. There is also the risk of pregnancy or STD’s that the victim must be aware of. Psychosocially, the victim becomes distant with everyone they were once close to. Their level of trust declines dramatically, causing relationships with spouses, family, and close friends to crumble. Since the victims tend to push their loved ones away, often without giving any sort of reason, they can sometimes face isolation and a lack of support from those whom would usually offer council. The psychological effects are tremendous as well. Victims of sexual assault will often have severe anxiety, post-traumatic stress

Before discussing the sexual assault crisis on college campuses, it is important to disprove some misconceptions. When someone reports a sexual assault, society tends to immediately deny the assault happened, claiming false accusation, but, according to Stanford’s “Men Against Abuse Now” report, only two percent of allegations are false, a

On college campuses across the nation, more sexual assaults have begun to surface, but only a few of these assaults get attention. Sexual assaults can be a very touchy subject meaning that a lot of people, friends and even college counselors or therapists advise the victims not to speak up about the incident. I believe that most of the time administration tries to protect the attacker rather than look out for the victim. Because of this, very few cases are actually investigated properly. Men typically use alcohol or drugs to coerce women into having sex, and some will simply just use force or threats against their victim. While men perform most acts of sexual assault, women are typically the ones who are blamed for whatever happens to them. This blame is generally put onto the women because of the way they dress or act, while the men face little to no repercussions for their actions. Sexual assaults on college campuses have become a huge epidemic across the nation, which is why preventative measures need to be taken to reduce the chances of sexual assault on our college campuses.

•26% percent of gay men and 37% of bisexual men compared to 29% of heterosexual men experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime

     Sexual assault is a term that is used interchangeably with the word rape. The decision on whether or not to use the term rape or sexual assault is made by a state’s jurisdiction. Sexual assault is more readily used in an attempt to be more gender neutral (National Victim Center). Sexual assault can be most easily described as forced or unconsentual sexual intercourse. The individual that is performing these acts on the victim may either be a stranger or an acquaintance. In 1994, 64.2 percent of all rapes were committed by someone the offender had previously known (Ringel, 1997). Regardless, this type of crime can have extreme effects on the victim.

According to the American Psychological Association, sexual orientation is defined as "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes" (APA, 2008). Moreover, the definition offered suggests that sexual orientation does not solely relate as a characteristic of an individual but is most reflective of a relationship with another individual (APA, 2008). In the United States, those with a sexual orientation described as lesbian, gay, transgender or bisexual have faced discrimination, violence and prejudice based on their sexual orientation. Throughout the 1970's, 80's and into the 1990's public opinion polls indicated a significant rate of violence and harassment targeted towards those individuals identified as or self identified as belonging to the gay, lesbian, or homosexual community. With HIV/AIDs becoming more prevalent and the national and international scare associated with the disease, the gay and lesbian community was the primary target. Public opinion was vocal and negative.

Women, girls, men, and boys are vulnerable victims of sexual assaults every day in our country. While females experience much higher rates of sexual assaults than males. The problem that this country faces is the lack of being able to track rapist, in addition to the victims that chose not to report their assault of being raped to the police. Issues of under reporting comes from the victims with multiple reasons that hinders them from reporting these heinous criminal acts. Thus, the sad realization is that the perpetrator is usually some one that you know, that you would of never of thought that they could and would, and do sexually assault you.

There are many reasons that male victims do not come forward and report being raped. After talking to a speaker from the Gay/Lesbian Alliance here on campus, I found out some interesting information. One of the biggest reason's males do not come forward and report being raped is the fear of being perceived as homosexual. However, male sexual assault has nothing to do with the sexual orientation of

Many victims refuse to report or seek help after a rape because they are scared of what their family, friends, or society will think of them. Often