Effect of Victim Use on Reporting Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is one of the major problems that has not only been faced by humans in the past but is also being faced by the modern society. The negatives effects of sexual assault are numerous. They range from the ones that are just confined to the victim such as physical injury to those affecting the larger community as the sense of loss and the related efforts that are aimed at aiding the victim. Sexual assault has touched on many aspects of society; the religious beliefs that we hold, our moral perspective, the social structures that we have and even our legal, and learning institutions. Sexual assault has led us to examine whether our religious institutions pass messages that can deter people from committing the same. It has led us to question the government’s ability to protect its citizens. We have been forced to consider our moral obligations toward one another, the obligation not to harm others and also the obligation to help the members of society in need. The victim of sexual assault suffers in many ways which may include but are not limited to psychological trauma and physical injury(Fisher et al , 2000).

It is because of the many negative impacts of this evil that society attempts to prevent or at least control the occurrences of sexual abuse. In order to be successful at averting abuse and having proper punitive measures against perpetrators, it is necessary that sexual assault be defined. So what is sexual assault? this term has been variously defined but it may be generally termed as any sexual words and actions done to another person that are unwanted by the person to whom the action is done or sexual actions that are harmful to the person(Fisher et al , 2000).

In drug or alcohol aided sexual assault, there are three possible situations. One situation is when only the assailant is intoxicated when the act or acts of sexual assault are committed. The other situation in which alcohol and drug aided assault occurs is when only the victim of the assault is under the influence of drugs at the time of the event. The final situation is when both the victim and the assailant are under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of assault. Although the singular form of victim and assailant are used here, there are situations where the numbers of either or both have been greater than one(Abbey et al , 1996).

The victims of sexual assault are of diverse nature as assault knows no boundaries. The victims are of any race, gender, age and political affiliation.

The situations that concern us for the purpose of this writing are the last two where the victim is under the influence of drug or alcohol. The assailant is sometimes normally responsible for the state of intoxication of the victim. The assailant may introduce drugs into the victim’s system without the victim’s knowledge or the assailant may deliberately make the victim consume alcohol excessively. In other cases the victim may have consumed alcohol or used drugs out of their own will prior to meeting the assailant (Abbey et al , 1996). The assailant normally takes advantage of the victim’s state to commit the assault. The intoxicated victim is in such a state as to negate the possibility of consent or the making of any attempt at resisting the actions done to them (Ullman et al ,2008).

There are many substances that are used during the commission of a drug assisted sexual assault.

The most common and widely used substance is alcohol which usually decreases inhibitions thereby facilitating the attacks.

Other than alcohol, some drugs are also very commonly used to facilitate the commission of the said sexual assaults. Some of the drugs that are most often implicated are soma, Rohypnol, which is a benzodiazepine, and ketamine (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009). The victim is usually rendered unconscious using benzodiazepines and other sedative hypnotics, are used as well. The effect of these drugs is that they make the victims unconscious (Fisher et al, 2000). This effect is usually quickened and made more intense by making the victim take the drugs mixed with alcohol. Some individuals may also willingly take the drugs and put themselves in a situation that makes them become victims. As these drugs have sedative properties, many of the victims of sexual assault do not normally have any memory of the commission of the act towards them. They may only have an inexplicable sense or awareness that they had been violated (Abbey et al, 1996).

Alcohol and drug aided sexual assault is a prevalent problem in the society today( U.S. Department of Justice, 2009). In an effort to deter people from committing this crime and also to bring about justice, the prosecution of suspected offenders is paramount. For any prosecution to be carried out, there must be awareness the crime was committed. In most sexual assault cases the individuals involved are normally only the assailant and the victim. As such the only person who is more likely to bring the matter to the attention of the authorities is the victim as the assailant would rarely self-incriminate if at all. The reporting of the occurrence of an assault is therefore necessary for any further action to be taken. A significant number of drug and alcohol related abuse is however rarely reported (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009). This is more so when the victim was either intoxicated out of their own free will or otherwise. There are several reasons why very few cases of sexual assault where the victim was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs or possibly a combination of both. This happens for several reasons.

One of the reasons why cases of drug or alcohol aided sexual assault are never reported is that the involvement of the drug usually occurs when the victim and the assailant both know each other. As the drug is interpreted as a sign of closeness between the victim and the assailant, the victim never labels the act as an “assault” (Abbey et al, 1996). This could happen when the drug is offered to the victim as perhaps a gift and the victim afterwards views the act as just a consequence of the enjoyment of the drug in question (Small, & Donell, 1993.). The incident that occurs between the two after consumption of the drug is however, still fundamentally sexual assault as at the time of occurrence the victim could neither have consented nor refused to engage in the act. Nonetheless the means i.e. the drug still becomes the way out for the assailant as the victim views the drug as a sign of closeness the assault notwithstanding (Abbey et al, 1996).

Another reason for none reporting of alcohol or drug aided sexual assault is the policies in the institutions where the victim is a member. A case to illustrate this is that of a college student in an institution whose policies prohibit the consumption of alcohol or any other form of substance abuse (Payne, 2008).

Many institutions of learning especially those set up by religious organizations have a zero tolerance policy to alcohol let alone hard drugs. The victim usually fears the punishment that would come when the institution learns that they engaged in drug abuse contrary to the set policies (Payne, 2008). Since reporting the incident of sexual assault necessitates the narration which would eventually bring up the issue of substance abuse, the victim opts to keep silent in order to avoid such punitive measures as expulsion. The fear of the authorities to whom the report would have otherwise been made therefore exceeds the desire to report the incident. If the sexual assault would have occurred without the involvement of drug abuse by the victim, the likelihood of the incident being reported to the appropriate authorities would have been higher. Thus the drug and alcohol policies act as a constant barrier to victims willing to report sexual assault (Abbey et al, 1996).

One other way in which the abuse or drugs or alcohol by the victim prevents the reporting of an incident of sexual assault is continual abuse of drugs after the event. It is well known that some forms of sexual assault deeply traumatize the victims. These victims sometimes respond to the trauma in ways which show depths of psychological distress. When the victim was a drug abuser prior to the sexual assault, the victim may resort to the very same drugs to escape from the pain and suffering of having experienced the assault. A victim who was not involved in substance abuse may also change behavior and abuse drugs massively after the incident. When the victim of an assault reacts in this manner to the assault before reporting the incident, the report may never be made in the end. The victim’s state of mind is such that they can not function properly to enable them to report the occurrence of the sexual assault(Abbey et al , 1996).

The assailant may also incapacitate the victim further by not only encouraging the victim to consume more drugs this obviously prevents the victim from ever reporting the incident. A sad case in question is where the victim’s life is terminated as a result of drug abuse. If a victim consumes drugs to such quantities as to cause the death of the victim, the assault will never be reported. This is more so if a significant period of time has elapsed between the time of assault and the time of demise. If no connection is made between the sexual assault and the subsequent death, it shall never be reported that the victim was assaulted. Whether the victim would have reported the incident matters not as the effect of consuming high quantities of drugs i.e. death have in effect stopped the reporting of the same (Abbey et al, 1996).

A victim of sexual assault may also fail to report because of a feeling of quilt and responsibility for what happened (Abbey et al, 1996).This is directly linked to the use of drugs or alcohol by the victim. Because of the use of alcohol on their part, the victim feels that they would have prevented the incident had they not consumed the alcohol. They also feel that they did not engage in any physical or verbal resistance and therefore blame themselves instead of blaming the assailant for the action (Abbey et al, 1996). As they feel responsible for what happened, they fail to report. Although feelings of guilt and shame are a ‘normal’ response to some forms of sexual assault, nonetheless the victims report. Failure to report can be directly attributed to alcohol consumption in this manner as in its absence the victim may have given relatively more resistance to assault. When the victim resists, they feel more anger towards the assailant than towards themselves and mat therefore report (Fisher et al, 2000). This is In contrast with alcohol or drug use by the victim, since the likelihood of engaging in any form of resistance is either reduced or completely nonexistent, the victim’s anger may be direct more towards the self. This therefore hinders the reporting of alcohol or drug aided assault.

Another way in which the use of drugs or alcohol consumption may deter the victim from reporting the assault is memory related. Drinking or drug use by the victim may lead to the perception that the sexual assault did not take place. This erroneous perception occurs even when the event of sexual assault actually occurred (Abbey et al, 1996). In a situation where both the assailant and the victim were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, both of them might not be aware of the occurrence of the assault. As such they may assume that the assault never occurred. In other circumstances, the assailant may well be aware of having committed the assault against the victim, while the victim due to the use of drugs or alcohol thinks that the abuse actually never took place. In both cases, as a consequence of drug use, the victim, having a perception that is false, may fail to report the incident. How would one report a crime that has not been committed? The assailant in an act of self preservation may never reveal to the victim the facts about the sexual assault (Ullman et al, 2008).

Another reason which is somewhat similar but different from the previous one is where because of perhaps physical evidence of assault, the victim only suspects assault. This may occur when the victim only remembers a portion of what ensured. It may occur for instance when a victim remembers only the part where along with the assailant, the two of them entered a room. With this as the last memory, the victim gains sobriety and realizes that the environment is suggestive of assault (Kramer, 1994). The victim may sense physical changes in the body such as exhaustion but may not recall the actual assault. Compelling evidence such as semen may not be present as the assailant may have been careful. In such a situation where there is only slight physical discomfort, a feeling that something happened and no recollection of events whatsoever, the victim may choose not to report. There are even cases where there is no discomfort but just the suspicion without evidence that the assault actually occurred (Schuller & Anna, 2000).

Failure to report drug assisted sexual assault may also be as a result of the fear of public perception. Many of the victims, being members of the society have come to realize that there are public attitudes towards sexual assault. The victims know that in the public eye, there is a lot of stereotyping and the victim is normally blamed so much for the incident. In the case of drug assisted sexual assault, this is especially true as there are widely held beliefs that the consumption of alcohol by a female is a sign of promiscuity (Maurer & David, 2007). The opinion that the consumption of alcohol leads to the lowering of sexual inhibitions is also prevalent in the public. Knowing this, the victim in drug assisted sexual assault will fail to report the assault as they fear that they will be blamed for the incident (Schuller & Anna, 2000).

The victims feel that the public will assume that they consented to the assault just because they had consumed alcohol at the period prior to the assault (Maurer & David , 2007). A victim of sexual assault who was sober at the time of assault may be viewed with a more sympathetic eye by the public as opposed to one who was under the influence. Further more the public has not accepted the fact that a woman can much like a man drink purely for the purpose of enjoyment (Ullman et al, 2008). The society is uncomfortable with a woman drinking and will therefore blame the victim in an attempt to maintain the held norms. The victim fearing further condemnation fails to report the sexual assault that has occurred (Kramer, 1994).

Another reason that prevents the victims of drug assisted sexual assault from reporting to the authorities is that they do not have the legal knowledge to realize that what they had experienced was sexual assault. This is so because the ‘weapon’ used by the assailant is a drug or alcohol. To the victims, since there is no physical injury, no struggle and no weapons used, the sexual assault does not fit there prototype of sexual assault (Kramer, 1994). When a victim willingly consumes alcohol and afterwards the assault occurs, the victim fails to comprehend the magnitude of what has occurred. The victim fails to report not because of prior consent but because the introduction of alcohol exploits the victims ignorance (Abbey et al, 1996).

The lack of evidence may also result in the failure on the part of the victim to report the occurrence of sexual assault to relevant authorities. How does the victim prove that the assault was actually drug assisted when there are no drugs detected in the victim’s body? There are no detections as most of the drugs that are widely used when committing acts of sexual assault are absorbed very rapidly into the victim’s body system (Bryden et al 1997). They then undergo quick metabolism and converted to substances that are usually present in both blood and urine making them undetectable by way of examination of these fluids. Victims who use drugs know that these drugs cause memory loss and are metabolized at very high speed. They also know that by the time they recover fully from the effects of drug use such as dizziness, the drugs will no longer be in there system (Maurer & David, 2007). The victims therefore know that it would be difficult for them to support any claim that drugs were used to sexually assault them. This deters them from reporting the commission of the assault on them (Bryden et al, 1997).

The use of alcohol in the commission of sexual assault leads to non-reporting because the victims sometimes identify with the assailant in terms of control of their faculties of thinking. This is normally the case when both the victim and the assailant were under the influence of alcohol (Small, & Donell, 1993). While the assailant was aware of the actions, the victim assumes that the assailant was actually unaware of what was occurring. The victim assumes that since they did not have control over their conduct during the event of sexual assault, the assailant must also have been in a similar state. The victim feels that the assailant is not to blame but rather the drug. The victim sees the assailant as a co-victim of drug abuse. With this kind of rationalization, the victim excuses the assailant who may have carefully planned the whole thing, unknown to the victim. The assailant does nothing to make the victim any wiser. In this way the use of alcohol or drugs neither ensures that an act of sexual assault is committed but is neither recognized as such nor reported (Schuller & Anna, 2000).

In the event that only words which in a sober setting would qualify as sexual assault, due to memory loss and reduced cognitive powers, the victim of verbal sexual assault fails to recognize it as such or even remember that such an assault occurred. Thus the assault is likely to go unreported (Fisher et al, 2000).

In my opinion, although it rarely happens, the use of drugs or alcohol by the victim of sexual assault may actually lead to the reporting of sexual assault. This could happen when there is concern for the change of behavior in the victim in terms of drug use. When inquiries are made by concerned parties, they may lead the victim to reveal the commission of sexual assault that they react to by consuming drugs. Another odd manner in which victim alcohol abuse may lead to reporting could be confessions made under influence. A victim who would when sober not talk about sexual assault may in a moment of bravado as a result of alcohol consumption speaks of sexual assault committed against them. Later on those who had the victim speak may approach the victim in a sober state to hear the full account. In this manner the sexual assault may be reported.

Victims who understand sexual assault properly may easily recognize it as such by the simple fact that they were not sober at the time of the event. With this kind of knowledge, the victim assured that the question of consent should not arise, reports the commission of the assault.

Conclusion

It is quite evident that use of drugs or alcohol in many ways hinders the reporting of sexual assault. In odder to prevent assault, measures should be taken to encourage victims to report the crimes so that justice can take its cause. Such measures would include exempting victims of sexual assault from punitive measures in the drug policies of institutions. Another measure could be proper counseling to suspected victims to ensure that they do not use drugs that may make them incapable of filling a report and furnishing it with information. The society should also change its perspective on women who consume alcohol. The society should learn to direct blame to the perpetrator and not to further victimize the victim. With encouragement to victims who consume drugs or alcohol, more cases of sexual assault will be reported and the society will improve as further assault will be averted.

Bibliography

Abbey et al. Alcohol and dating risk factors for sexual assault among college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly: 1996.

Bryden et al Rape in the Criminal Justice System. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology :1997.

Fisher et al. The sexual victimization of college women. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice: 2000. Web.

Kramer, Karen M. Rule by Myth: The Social and Legal Dynamics Governing Alcohol-Related Acquaintance Rapes: Stanford Law Review: 1994.

Maurer, Trent W. & David W. Robinson. (2007). Effects of Attire, Alcohol, and Gender on Perceptions of Date Rape: 2007.

Payne, Brian K. Challenges responding to sexual violence: Differences between college campuses and communities. Journal of Criminal Justice: 2008.

Schuller, Regina A. & Anna Stewart. Police Responses to Sexual Assault Complaints: The Role of Perpetrator/Complainant Intoxication. Law and Human Behavior: 2000.

Small, Stephen A. & Donell, Kerns. Unwanted Sexual Activity among Peers during Early and Middle Adolescence: Incidence and Risk Factors. Journal of Marriage and the Family: 1993.

U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. National crime victimization survey, Crime characteristics: 2009. Web.

Ullman et al (2008). Exploring the Relationships of Women’s Sexual Assault Disclosure, Social Reactions, and Problem Drinking. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

What Can Be Done to Prevent Sexual Assault in Colleges

Sexual assault is intercourse that takes place without the consent of one of the participants. It may happen in different contexts, yet the most common cases show that usually the situations are related to alcohol or drug use, and almost always victims are familiar with rapists (Hewitt et al., 2019). There is little protection for most people in specific occasions when sexual assault can happen that should be identified, and their possibility should be minimized. Doing work in this direction is the best way for colleges to help their students stay safe, and the most efficient tool to implement it is giving information. Spreading knowledge on how to avoid such situations if the potential victim has suspicions that something is going to happen is an important yet not the only way to prevent sexual assault.

There are other various topics that students can be guided about to help themselves or others in such situations. For example, students should be advised to practice safe alcohol use as many sexual assaults happen due to the vulnerability of a victim due to the intoxication, and the ones assaulting are more confident, decisive, and impulsive in their actions while intoxicated (Ford, 2017). Possibly, they would be more hesitant to assault someone if they were sober. Therefore, drinking in the company of slightly familiar or unfamiliar people should be done as carefully as possible.

Additional guidance should be provided on how to help others if they are sure or at least suspect that someone is going to be or is being sexually assaulted. Students can intervene on their own and distract the potential victim from the dangerous situation. This can be made by simply asking to help them with something or assisting in exiting the situation by finding reasons to leave. Besides, possible to ask a friend of a potential victim to interrupt if a person at risk does not have enough trust to the one who is concerned.

Reference

Ford, J. V. (2017). Sexual assault on college hookups: The role of alcohol and acquaintances. Sociological Forum, Vol. 32, No. 2, 381-405.

Hewitt, A. N., Beauregard, E., & Davies, G. (2019). An empirical examination of the victim-search methods utilized by serial stranger sexual offenders: A classification approach. Journal of interpersonal violence, 34(21-22), 4522-4549.

Sexual Assault: Definition, Types, Causes, Factors, and How to Prevent It

Introduction

Each day cases of physical as well as psychological assault are reported in various parts of the world. However, it is important to note that other cases go unreported due to various factors. These cases range from domestic violence to other relatively more serious cases like rape. While many people know only of rape as being the act of forcefully having sex with a lady, there are more types of rape that occur in our society. Arguably, rape has social and psychological effects. It is important to note that it has been difficult to control rape in our society despite the fact that tough legal actions are taken against perpetrators of the crime. Nevertheless, there are several ways through which rape can be prevented.

Definition of Rape

In simple terms, rape can be defined as the act of having sex with a person without express and free consent of the person. It is important to note that forcing one into doing sex does not only involve using physical force but also bribes, intimidation as well as emotional coercion (Raphael, 2013). Contrary to the beliefs of many people, rape occurs to both men and women. On the same note, having sex with a person who is unable to give informed and free consent due to one reason or another is also considered to be rape. In this regard, any sexual act must get approval from all the concerned parties bearing in mind that each person involved should be able to make an independent and informed decision (Raphael, 2013).

Types of rape

There are several types of rape that occur in our society. To begin with, there is anger rape. This is where the perpetrator uses rape as a weapon of humiliating the victim. This is mostly used as a revenge method where the rapist uses extreme force in order to degrade their victim. Secondly, there is power rape where rapists want to show their victims that they are capable of doing anything they want. To them, rape is an ultimate act of how powerful they really are (Sanday, 2007). Moreover, there is a type of rape where the rapist knows the victim. This is called date rape and usually occurs in social situations. It occurs between friends, family, and other acquaintances. This is the most common type of rape in many parts of the world. Similarly, there is another type of rape that most people do not consider as being rape. This is rape between two people who are married and is referred to as marital rape. This occurs when one partner is forced to have sexual actions without the consent of the other partner. Lastly, there can be more than one rapist raping a single victim (Sanday, 2007). This type of rape is referred to as gang rape.

Social and Cultural Causes of Rape

There are several factors that cause rape and they can be grouped into various categories social and cultural factors are one of the categories. The way society has socialized people highly contributes to rape. The societal belief that women should be submissive to men has been found to highly contribute to rape. On the same note, culture has made men believe that they should have sex to prove that they are in control of everything. Arguably, there is a belief that women usually say no even when they really mean yes. As a result, most men assume the denials of women against sex (Raphael, 2013). On the same note, the definition of rape in various territories and cultural backgrounds is different and sometimes lets the rapists off the hook leading to increased rape cases.

Psychological Factors behind Rape

To begin with, the causes of rape have been associated with psychological defects. It has been depicted that people who rape are either emotionally unstable or they are suffering from personality disorders. Furthermore, some rapists have also been known to be sexually addicted thus being unable to control their urge to have sex. On the other hand, rape causes some psychological effects on victims (Sanday, 2007). This includes emotional torture that sometimes leads to trauma. Additionally, raped victims lose their self-esteem, develop a sense of helplessness and eventually find it difficult to have relationships.

How to Prevent Rape

Though rape has been a cause of concern for a very long time now, preventing it is still a problem. Laws have been implemented against rape to help in the reduction of rape cases but still more needs to be done. To avoid date rapes, it is advisable to stop trusting people too much and ensure all meetings are conducted in open places. Similarly, people should learn to accept when rape takes place whether it involves our friends or family (Raphael, 2013). Additionally, members of society are advised to be very careful when they go out or at parties and reduce the amount of alcohol taken. Moreover, it will be helpful for people to attend self-defense training so that they can be able to defend themselves in case of an attack. It has also been pointed out that dressing styles can attract rapists (Sanday, 2007). Consequently, it is advisable to take care of the dressing style especially when going to places one considers unsafe.

Conclusion

Various types of sexual assault are prevalent in our society. As a result, there is a need to ensure that effective measures are taken to prevent them. However, cooperation from every member of society is crucial if sexual assaults are to be prevented. Nevertheless, much as the accusing finger goes to the perpetrators of rape, the victims should also be trained on how to avoid falling prey.

References

Raphael, J. (2013). Rape is Rape: How Denial, Distortion, and Victim Blaming are Fueling a Hidden Acquaintance Rape Crisis. Chicago: Chicago Review Press.

Sanday, P. (2007). Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus. New York: NYU Press.

Reasons for Underreporting Sexual Assault

Introduction

Despite the development of public awareness and legal system enhancement, sexual assault remains extremely frequent and disturbing in contemporary society. The terms “sexual assault” and “sexual abuse” are commonly interchangeable and defined as “offenses in which an assailant forces a victim to participate in a variety of sexual behaviors that may include the actual or attempted penetration” (Dedel, 2011, p. 5). According to researchers, around 20% of women underwent committed or attempted sexual abuse during a lifetime, though the number of reports is enormously small. The purpose of this research is an analysis of reasons why sexual assault is so frequently underreported, other scholars’ theories and concepts in this area, and further directions of this issue’s investigation.

The rape report movement altered social and legal attitudes to sexual assaults; it contributed to victim-blaming mentality change by initiating a reorientation toward the offender’s penalty, rather than the victim’s discrimination. Besides, public campaigns and activities for sexual abuse awareness and the legal system’s severe punitive measures for committing rape aimed to reduce barriers and encourage victims’ report the crime. Though, despite this progress, sexual assault remains a significant public issue and one of the most underreported crimes against humanity in modern society.

Reporting Sexual Assaults among College Students

Sexual assaults among college students remain an essential public concern. According to the national research, up to 25% of women, being students, became the victim of performed or potential sexual abuse before graduation (Hines, Armstrong, Reed, Cameron, 2012). A substantial number of examinations, dedicated to this critical issue, are regularly performed by the authorities. The investigation by the Center for Public Integrity included interviews of experts and sexually assaulted students, the review of selected cases data, and surveys of clinics and crisis centers in the vicinity of college campuses. During the research, students were asked to point barriers that discourage victims from a legal report; the most significant listed barriers were feelings of shame, self-doubt, embarrassment, confidentiality concerns, fears of rejection by friends, not being believed by the college authorities, and perpetrator’s retaliation.

Reasons For Underreporting Sexual Assaults Committed by Strangers

Many scholars review the issue of women’s sexual assault to the full extent and investigate reasons for its underreporting by victims; they afford essential arguments, enlightening victims’ routine underreporting of assaults committed by strangers. Dedel (2011) underlines the importance of the victim’s cooperation with the police to provide an effective justice response. In case of abuse by a stranger, the woman is frequently the only witness, and her non-reporting leads to the absence of the offender’s prosecution and the justice system’s value deprivation (Dedel, 2011). Oppositely, the significant information, received from a victim, may result in further abuse cases’ prevention and encourage more victims to report this crime.

According to previous research, women report abuse on a more frequent basis in the situation when they were injured, forced, or threatened by a weapon. Besides, appropriate medical treatment, family and friends’ support, and police assistance can support victims’ resolution to report the crime. Various reasons cause women’s refusal to report. Besides a feeling of shame, partial responsibility, and embarrassment, particular illegal activities, such as drugs use or prostitution, and immoderate drinking of alcohol force women to hide assault cases. The majority of sexually abused victims have a dread of police insensitivity, the justice system’s burdening process, and revenge from the offender as well.

Reporting Sexual Assaults in the Military

There are studies that focus on the investigation of sexual assault in the military and barriers for servicewomen in reporting this malefaction. In 2013, the Midwestern community sample of currently serving and veteran servicewomen completed the survey to identify the percentage of women, who underwent a committed or an attempted sexual abuse during military service; from 1339 interviewed recipients, 205 women had experienced sexual assault (Mendeling, Booth, Torner, Sadler, 2014). The majority of victims did not report due to beliefs in lack of confidentiality and support from peers; they questioned the effectiveness of legal proceedings and inevitability of punishment for a perpetrator. Although, the Department of Defense implements measures to prevent sexual abuse and increase the number of reports; two types of reports are suggested for servicewomen – restricted reporting involves confidential reports to designated military authorities, and unrestricted reporting results in the official criminal investigation.

Personal, Social, and Institutional Factors of Underreporting Sexual Assault

Various scholars present a fresh approach to the issue of underreporting sexual crimes. According to Szurgyi (2018), all reasons to hide abuse can be divided into three types; the first category is personal factors. Due to the absence of awareness, experience, or proper education, a substantial number of women identify sexual assault as acceptable and not malicious in case force was not used against them. Another personal factor of reluctance is the victim’s sympathy to a perpetrator; the U.S. Department of Justice found that “three-quarters of victims know their attacker” (Szurgyi, 2018, p. 18). The second category is social factors; the community’s attitude to sexual abuse plays an essential role in its perception. In a society with a rape culture, which supports males’ sexual aggression and victim-blaming, and regards violence against women as a norm, the number of reported assaults will be insignificant. The third category is connected with confidentiality concerns and the lack of believability from an institutional system; sexually abused individuals frequently possess a lack of knowledge, concerning the submission of a report, and a lack of trust towards the legal system and penalty execution.

Some outstanding investigations concentrate on the reasons why a significant number of sexual abuse victims do not label or report this crime. The act of reporting rape means its actualization and acceptance for a victim; it requires the discussion of circumstances, emotions, experience, and affiliation. Despite the fact, that the label of a sexual assault survivor is eventually regarded as empowering, the majority of individuals refuse to recognize abuse; they believe that labeling and reporting it can harm their identity and further achievements (Khan, Hirsch, Wamboldt, Mellins, 2018). This article’s concept is based on the analysis of students from Columbia University’s undergraduate schools and Barnard College; more than one hundred and fifty recipients were examined to identify the main reasons for sexual assault rejection (Khan et al., 2018). Thus, abuse labeling causes three types of social risks: an identity risk (threats of self-destruction), and interpersonal risk (tension in relations and communication), and a project-related risk (consequent professional achievements difficulties).

Research Proposal

This study contributes a highly essential issue for consideration about a substantial number of sexual assault cases in contemporary society. It enlightens the prevalence of violence against women in all spheres of life, underreporting of this hideous crime, and barriers that restrain victims from reporting abuse as well. The terms “sexual abuse” and “sexual assault” are interchangeable and frequently used as synonyms to “sexual violence.” This term includes a wide range of sexual maltreatment from completed or attempted unwanted sexual acts and traffic of sexuality, using coercion, to insulting sexual comments, proposal, and harassment. Violence implicates threats and physical force and weapon use, regardless of location and relationship between a victim and an offender. Among all articles concerning this issue, a substantial number of studies are dedicated to the investigation of why sexual assault is so frequently underreported. They scrutinize the reasons which conduct victims in situations when they decide to hide the experienced sexual abuse. In the process of a thorough examination of respectful scholars’ works, all designated barriers can be divided into personal, social, and institutional.

Personal factors why victims are reluctant to report violence are determined by their psychological state, level of education and sexual assault awareness, or victim’s occupation. The most significant psychological barriers for women are feelings of shame, self-doubt, embarrassment, and guilt. Victims frequently question whether their behavior could provoke the abuser. Another reason for the reluctance to report is the acquaintance between a victim and a perpetrator. According to statistics, the predominant number of sexually abused women knew their offenders and frequently did not want them further difficulties and imprisonment. Besides, a lack of sexual awareness leads to acceptance of assault. Women do not identify violence against them as a crucial reason to report it. Involvement in illegal activities and alcohol drinking before committing abuse force women to be silent about assault cases as well.

Social factors of sexual violence underreporting are defined by the community’s attitude and social perspective of abuse. Despite various activities focused on the reorientation toward the offender’s penalty, rather than the victim’s discredit, rape culture dominates not only in sexual assault-accepting societies but in developed communities as well. In case the majority of members encourage violence against women, regarding it as a norm of life, support assailants, and blame women for experienced sexual assault (frequently, women are blamed for their appearance or behavior), victims will not report a crime. They will have a fear of public shaming, friends, and family’s support loss, and negative implications for subsequent private life. Institutional factors explain non-reporting by victims’ concern in their confidentiality, police and legal system sensitivity, and their defense in case of abuser’s revenge.

This research, based on existing studies’ review, enlightens the sexual assault issue severity and encourages further investigation to discover and analyze additional factors of victims’ reporting reluctance. For instance, the range of psychological factors, examined in studies of Hines et al. (2012), Dedel (2011), and Szurgyi (2018), can be expanded by surveys that incorporate victims’ interviewing and in-depth examination of police and medical reports. Hines et al. (2012) and Mendeling et al. (2014) study sexual assault in specific spheres, in college campuses and the military. Future research can focus on other members of a community, investigating home violence or men’s sexual assault.

Another direction of further research is an investigation of measures that society can perform to increase the number of sexual abuse reports. According to Szurgyi (2018), contemporary social campaigns such as the revolutionary #MeToo movement encourage victims to speak up about assault without being blamed or criticized. Although progress is noticeable, the negative response to these movements is developing as well. Conservative individuals suspect women’s support uniting as an attack against men and personal interests’ advance, such as money and fame, without committing abuse. In this case, practical actions, targeting the change of social mentality and increasing trust and sensitivity towards victims, such as public society education and promotion of sexual awareness through media sources, should be performed. In addition, further study of psychological, social, and institutional barriers for sexual violence underreporting will be beneficial for law enforcement. Police will be more aware of formulating a strategy, designed to encourage abuse reporting and help victims to overcome their distrust.

References

  1. Dedel, K. (2011). Problem-Specific Guides Series Problem-Oriented Guides for Police, 62, 1-55. Web.
  2. Hines, D. A., Armstrong, J. L., Reed, K. P., Cameron, A. Y. (2012). Gender differences in sexual assault victimization among college students. Violence and Victims, 27(6), 922-940.
  3. Khan, S., Hirsch, J., Wamboldt, A., Mellins. C. (2018).”I didn’t want to be ‘that girl “‘: The social risks of labeling, telling, and reporting sexual assault. Sociological Science, 5, 432-460. Web.
  4. Mendeling, M., Booth, B., Torner, J., Sadler, A. (2014). American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(1), 17-25. Web.
  5. Szurgyi, M. (2018). The outside looking in: Examining reasoning behind the choice to report sexual assault and domestic violence. Dissenting Voices, 7(1), 15-29.

Resources for Survivors of Sexual Assault

Introduction

Sexual assault is one of the most prevalent reported cases of violence in the United States (US). Women are disproportionately affected by this problem, specifically because they can also suffer from intimate partner violence (IPV). According to Modi, Palmer, and Armstrong (2014), every year, over 5 million women in the US are victims of IPV. The problem of sexual assault, especially cases related to IPV, is highly pronounced among South Asian immigrant women. Such victims are not willing to report sexual assault cases due to cultural aspects and the fear that the involved authorities may not act appropriately.

Therefore, there is an overarching need to come up with a program to act as a resource for survivors of sexual assault. The purpose of this paper is to discuss South Asian immigrant women as a group disproportionately affected by sexual violence, specifically IPV. The paper also describes two programs that have been used in other places before recommending one that can be used in the context of South Asian immigrant women in California.

South Asian Immigrant Women as Survivors of IPV

South Asian immigrants form a sizeable number of the America population based on the available statistics. According to the United States Census Bureau (2017), 5.3 million South Asian immigrants lived in the US in 2017, which was close to 40 percent increment from the 2010 census. Women in this population cohort experience disproportionate cases of domestic violence, especially IPV. Jordan and Bhandari (2016) note that while the lifetime prevalence of domestic violence in the country is about 20 percent, South Asian immigrants report as high as 40 percent of sexual and physical abuse cases, which could rise to 50 percent when psychological and emotional abuses are included.

However, despite the high prevalence cases of IPV cases among women in these communities, a culture of silence and shame prevents victims from reporting when abused. Gonclaves and Matos (2016) argue that women in this population cohort tend to remain in abusive relationships and there are few support resources for them. Jordan and Bhandari (2016) posit that the majority of mainstream service providers in the US either ignore or are unaware of the plight of South Asian immigrant women as victims of IPV.

In addition, the cultural set-up of this community is organized in a way that discourages reporting cases of IPV. One of the main practices contributing to silence is the concept of filial piety or the belief that family comes first before self (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016). This realization underscores the need to have an intervention program to assist survivors of sexual violence among women of South Asian descent. The following section highlights some of the programs that have been used in other places to address a similar problem among South Asian immigrant women in California.

Programs that Have Been Used Elsewhere

Wyoming Trauma Telehealth Treatment Clinic

This clinic was established as a resource to provide psychotherapy services to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. According to Monahan (2019), if not addressed appropriately, IPV cases could lead to associated psychological conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and other related mental disorders. Therefore, the Wyoming Trauma Telehealth Treatment Clinic was established to offer support systems for such survivors to ensure that they do not suffer from further aggravated mental conditions.

Doctoral students undertaking psychology at the University of Wyoming were involved and they would provide psychotherapy services through videoconferencing to survivors in two rural locations – Carbon County COVE in rural Rawlins and Gillette Abuse Refuge Foundation in rural Gillette (Rural Health Information Hub, 2019b). Every week, survivors from these two centers would receive 60-90 minutes sessions of psychotherapy services from doctoral students in the institution under the supervision of qualified psychologists.

Before the establishment of this program, the two facilities would refer survivors of sexual assault to practitioners located in other places. In 2015, a review study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the program. The results showed a decreased prevalence of PTSD and depression among survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault (Gray et al., 2015). The program performed well by offering free psychotherapy services to vulnerable individuals.

Second, the teleconferencing was encrypted and thus clients’ privacy was ensured. Additionally, the doctoral students involved in the process were trained in trauma intervention, and by working under the supervision of a qualified psychologist, they offered professional services. However, the 60-90 weekly minutes that the psychotherapy services were offered is not enough, and in the future, more time should be allocated to ensure that clients get adequate support.

Butte Child Evaluation Center

This center was established to address cases of sexual abuse among children by offering help to victims of child abuse and their caregivers. According to Rural Health Information Hub (2019a), before 2000, the Child and Family Services Division (CFSD) of Butte “had an average of 1,300 cases of child abuse a year. They had a low conviction rate for perpetrators of child sexual abuse (around 20%), and there were 220 registered sexual and violent offenders in Butte” (para. 3).

This scenario necessitated the need for establishing and advocacy center to provide the much-needed support to sexually abused children in the region. Different organizations, including St. James Healthcare, Head Start, Early Head Start, School District #1, Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement, and Silver Bow County attorney’s office teamed up to form the Butte Child Evaluation Center (Rural Health Information Hub, 2019a). Services provided at this center included creating public safety awareness about signs of sexual abuse among children, clinical evaluation and therapy, and victim advocacy.

The involvement of multi agencies underscores one of the areas that the program performed well. Involving different players ensured that on top of getting clinical evaluation and therapy services, the victims also got justice through increased prosecution of perpetrators. In addition, children received technical skills on how to protect themselves from sexual abuse. Two satellite clinics were also established in Butte to bring services closer to people that need them.

However, the program could improve service delivery by increasing the number of satellite clinics across Butte so that children can be helped within their neighborhoods. The involved multi-agencies can also enlist schools and areas of worship in the advocacy program to ensure that everyone in the community is involved in protecting children from sexual abuse.

Recommendation

Based on the lessons learned from the Wyoming Trauma Telehealth Treatment Clinic and Butte Child Evaluation Center, a similar program could be established in California to help survivors of IPV among South Asian immigrant women. Given that California is a large state with the target group spread across the region, teleconferencing would be the most appropriate way of offering help to IPV survivors. This model would borrow heavily from the Wyoming Trauma Telehealth Treatment Clinic whereby university doctoral students studying psychology would be used to provide psychotherapy services to the targeted women in this region. For the students to qualify for the program, they should be trained in trauma intervention and work under the supervision of doctoral-level psychologists.

However, given that victims of IPV are unlikely to report cases of abuse, the Butte Child Evaluation Center model would be integrated to create awareness about the need to seek help. Therefore, local advocacy groups and religious sects would be used to encourage survivors of IPV to speak up as the starting point to getting the necessary help. Cultural issues and language barriers will be the major impediments to the implementation of this program hence the need for support from the local community. Immigrant attorneys, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors would also be involved to bring justice to survivors of such abuse. Establishing new centers could be costly, and thus the cost-effective way would be collaborating with local care providers to create space for the teleconferencing to take place.

Conclusion

Sexual assault is a common problem in the United States with women suffering disproportionately. Immigrant women of South Asian descent are prone to IPV and they normally do not report cases of abuse when they occur. Therefore, borrowing from the Wyoming Trauma Telehealth Treatment Clinic and Butte Child Evaluation Center, a new program would be established in California to provide psychotherapy services to IPV survivors through teleconferencing. A multi-agency approach should be used to overcome cultural and language barriers associated with South Asian immigrant women and ensure that they get justice.

References

Rural Health Information Hub (2019a). . Web.

Rural Health Information Hub (2019b). . Web.

Gonclaves, M., & Matos, M. (2016). Prevalence of violence against immigrant women: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Family Violence, 31, 697-710. Web.

Gray, M. J., Hassija, C. M., Jaconis, M., Barrett, C., Zheng, P., Steinmetz, S., & James, T. (2015). Provision of evidence-based therapies to rural survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault via telehealth: Treatment outcomes and clinical training benefits. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 9(3), 235-241.

Jordan, A., & Bhandari, S. (2016). Lived experiences of South Asian women facing domestic violence in the United States. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 25(3), 227-246. Web.

Modi, M. N., Palmer, S., & Armstrong, A. (2014). The role of Violence Against Women Act in addressing intimate partner violence: A public health issue. Journal of Women’s Health, 23(3), 253-259. Web.

Monahan, K. (2019). Intimate partner violence (IPV) and neurological outcomes: A review for practitioners. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 28(7), 807-825.

United States Census Bureau. (2017). American community survey 1-year estimates: Total Asian alone or in any combination population. Web.

Treatment for Sexual Assault Victims

Introduction

This assignment is a discussion on the topic of effective group treatment of sexual assault in military and civilian populations. The discussion pays special attention to the treatment models which have been empirically proved to be effective in the treatment of sexual assault victims. In the discussion, it will be argued that sexual assault is a leading cause of mental diagnosis like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Major Depressive Disorder, depression and sleep related mental diagnosis. The empirically based group treatment modalities to be discussed include Seeking Safety group, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I).

Discussion

The Problem of Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is any form of sexual harassment to a victim by an assailant or aggressor. It may be in form of rape, unanticipated sexual advances, touching of sexual organs or genital areas or using sexually intimidating language when communicating. An action qualifies to be a sexual assault if it leads to a sexual encounter, either physically or otherwise without the mutual agreement between the parties involved.

The worst and most common form of sexual assault is rape. Rape can happen in various places and contexts including workplace, social places or even in marriage. The most common cause of rape is psychological imbalance on the part of the rapist. Other causes may include provocative dressing and sexual starvation (Petrak &Hedge, 2002).

Many victims of rape are usually women. This is because it is easier for a man to rape a woman that it is possible and practical for a woman to rape a man. This does not however mean than men are not raped but rather means that women are more willing to report cases of rape than men. The reason is that it may be difficult for a man to provide evidence that he has been raped.

Most important is that men are culturally expected to be strong, courageous and able to defend themselves than women. This makes most men fear reporting that they have been raped for the fear of being regarded as cowards or weak and therefore unable to defend themselves. Men are also known to be very egoistic in nature and therefore an act like reporting a rape incident could damage their ego (Petrak &Hedge, 2002).

Most of the sexual assaults which are reported are usually committed by men, either to their fellow men or to women. This is because men are known to be very aggressive, egoistic and therefore unable to reconcile their ego demands with reality. Women rarely rape men because the women are generally weaker than men and therefore unable to commit the assault. Men are also known to easily give in to the sexual advances from women. Even when a man is raped by a woman, it is hard to prove because there is usually no evidence in terms of injuries as is the case when a man rapes a woman or another man.

Due to its complexity and sometimes stigma, sexual assault is rarely reported. This is because many women victims in the civilian population feel ashamed of reporting it or they fear for their lives especially if the assailant is a person in authority. This means that many victims of rape stay with the problem without reporting (Petrak &Hedge, 2002).

According to the center for deployment psychology, the prevalence rate for sexual victimization in the general US population is 17% for women and 3% for men. In the military, the rate of sexual victimization among women is estimated at 28% (Schulz, 2011).

Mental Diagnosis Associated With Sexual Assault

Major depressive disorder (MDD)

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diagnosis bases its definition of MDD majorly on the criteria of consistence and persistence of symptoms. The criteria distinguish MDD from depression by describing MDD as occurring in a prolonged manner, usually for a period of two weeks. It defines MDD as a form of depression in which the patient experiences feelings of disturbed moods in a recurrent manner. The mood disturbance cause disruption of the patient’s normal mood and makes him or her unable to adjust or behave accordingly in school, family setting as well as in work (Schulz, 2011).

The criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diagnosis does not have any kind of diagnosis for MDD but relies on observation of the patient, the patient’s own account of changes in mood as well as reports by close friends or relatives on the observed changes in mood in the patient (Martinowich & Lu, 2008. pp.342-348).

The most notable symptoms which are relied on in diagnosing for MDD include day to day mood changes lasting for more than two weeks, lack of interest in virtually all daily activities even those which are very interesting, instances of daytime sleep (hypersomnia), loss of appetite which leads to loss of body weight, or a weight gain by more than 5 kilograms, inability to concentrate or think aptly, fatigue which leads to feelings of tiredness even after waking up, occasional thoughts about death which are accompanied by feelings of worthlessness, and suicidal or homicidal tendencies.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

This is a form of anxiety disorder which occurs as a result of exposure to psychological disturbance. Patients who are diagnosed with PTSD show symptoms such as inability to sleep or being overly concerned with their safety or security. One of the main encounters in life which lead to PTSD is sexual assault. The victims of sexual assault usually experience the trauma of the sexual encounter, mostly in form of rape through having nightmares, flashbacks of the encounters and gender bashing (avoiding a particular sex, especially the one which committed the assault on the victims). Other causes of PTSD include the witnessing of a nasty encounter, war, accidents and terrorism.

Depression

Depression is a collection of symptoms which are mainly characterized by feelings of distress by the affected individual (Beck & Alford, 2009). There are two types of depressions namely unipolar and bipolar depressions. Although the two are not usually distinguished, unipolar depression is the most common form of depression and is characterized by hyperactivity, inappropriate behavior, lack of sleep and troubled speech among others (Andrews, 2009).

Depression is a mental disorder which affects various segments of the society including the aged, the young and the adults. According to the center for disease control, most U.S citizens aged over 50 years have either short lived or lifelong depression, with a sizable number being victims of sexual assault (Andrews, 2009). Many victims of sexual assault usually suffer depression in form of manic especially when they remember the encounters with their assailants.

Acute stress disorder

This is a form of mental diagnosis which is caused by experiencing a life threatening event or episode either on self or on others. Such life threatening events may include rape, witnessing death or a fatal accident. The disorder is usually diagnosed within a period of four weeks after the episode. Patients with acute stress disorder show dissociative symptoms linked to the event. This means they may have very vivid memories of the event or they may become emotionally insensitive.

According to the Psych Central weekly newsletter, the general symptoms of acute stress disorder include detaching oneself from one’s body, difficulty in concentrating, dissociative amnesia , re-experiencing the episode through illusions and flashbacks, avoiding anything which reminds the individual of the event, hyper vigilance, irritability, difficulty in sleeping, motor restlessness and poor concentration (Psych central, 2011).

Empirically-Based Group Treatment Modalities for Sexual Assault Victims

The most common form of intervention used in assisting victims of sexual assault both in the military and civilian populations is counseling. Counseling can be defined as an interaction between a client (who is presumed to be in need of assistance) and a counselor (who is presumed to be ready, willing qualified and competent enough to offer assistance to the client). Clients may be faced with various problems or distress emanating from their internal or external environment. They may have grief, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, low self-esteem, relationship problems, work related problems, family issues and many more.

The counselor is trained to have the necessary skills of helping the clients get relieved from the distress they have due to internal or external forces. There are various approaches to counseling, all of which aim at helping clients solve their problems. However, it may not be easy for a counselor to be an expert in all of them, but it is essential that the counselors are at least able to help the clients, and in some situations in which they may be unable, they may refer the clients elsewhere, so long as the clients will be assisted to solve their problems. In all theories or approaches, trust, confidentiality and openness are very essential for successful counseling. Counselors are also supposed to avoid judging their clients, but rather accept and understand them in their situations and plight (Corey, 2008).

In counseling, theories act as frameworks for guiding counselors in their interventions during counseling. The Various theoretical approaches employ different strategies in addressing problems facing clients. It is for the counselor to choose which theoretical approach to use based on the case.

Clients are faced with different problems which are manifested through the expression of some symptoms by the clients. The symptoms may be in form of behavior, feelings or self-expressions. In some cases, clients use the symptoms as alternatives for coping with the problems they are faced with. This means that the clients exhibit some behaviors which help them run away from the problems or live with the problems. In this case, the symptoms of the problem in question may be described as adaptive in the sense that the behaviors accompanying the symptoms are not innate, but are just acquired as a means to some end (Corey, 2008).

The symptoms therefore play the function of helping the clients cope or carry on with life, despite the challenges or the difficult situations they may be going through. For example, a husband who is not able to provide for his family may become a drug addict or an alcoholic, so as to avoid the stress related to the problems he is faced with (Corey, 2008).

Many victims of sexual assault usually suffer from PTSD as well as major depressive disorder. There are no discriminations in terms of civilian or military populations. However, as mentioned above, women in the military have greater chances of suffering from sexual assault than their male counterparts. There are several empirically group based treatments of victims of sexual assault. These modalities have been tested and shown good results in terms of symptoms disappearance. They include Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) (Schulz, 2011).

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

This mode of intervention is the same as the cognitive behavioral therapy, but done in a group setting. The CPT is based on the philosophy that the cause of trauma among patients is their poor understating and conceptualization of their traumatic experiences, which makes them to ever remember such experiences. If they are educated to modify their thinking and the memories associated with a certain traumatic experience, they are able to live better. The underlying principle is that the patients should be assisted to view the traumatic encounters as something which could have befallen anybody else, but not something which was made for them. Others tend to blame themselves for the sexual assault by thinking that they should have been more careful or aggressive in their defense (Schulz, 2011).

In treating both civilian and military victims of sexual assault, the therapy usually constitutes of 12 sessions in which the patients are taken through a systematic process which culminates in the complete elimination of the believes about themselves and the traumatic experiences which hinder their recovery from the trauma (Follette, 2006).

In one of the significant stages of the process, clients are asked to write down their worst forms of trauma which they have undergone in their lives. After writing them down, they are asked to read and narrate them to the therapist. The idea behind this is that the writing down of the experiences and narrating them decreases their chances of avoiding similar situations in life and helps the victims have the courage to dissipate similar experiences, which in turn leads to recovery by making the clients get back to normalcy in terms of emotional adjustment. The therapists also use what is referred to as Socratic dialogue to engage the clients in speaking about their experiences. This helps them reduce the rate of self-blame and increase their ability to appreciate that the experiences could have befallen any other person. This leads to recovery.

Seeking Safety group

This model was introduced as a therapeutic approach by Najavits. In its original form, the model was introduced as an integrative approach to the problems of trauma, drugs and substance abuse. The model comprises a total of 25 topics covered in four main areas namely behavioral, cognitive, case management and interpersonal. The model works well for groups as well as for individual therapy for both sexes. It is offered in sessions of one and half hours twice a week, which can be conducted for a period of up to three months (Follette, 2006).

The philosophy behind the model is that clients suffering from trauma are more likely to recover if they are helped to detach themselves from their personal safety issues and be overly concerned with the safety of everybody else. It is usually done in groups so as to allow the victims of traumatic episodes like sexual assault realize that they are not the only people who are undergoing such experiences, but it is a natural phenomenon which can affect anybody else. This makes the clients diffuse their fear and get rid of the memories of their traumatic episodes, thus leading to recovery (Follette, 2006).

This model has proved to be very effective especially for sexual assault women victims in the civilian populations due to its flexibility. The therapists in this model usually try as much as possible to fix themselves in the schedules of the patients. This is usually aimed at helping them establish rapport with the patients so that they may have a good therapeutic relationship which is very crucial for effective therapeutic intervention (Follette, 2006).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

This treatment method is based on the philosophy that traumatic experiences are associated with sleep diagnosis. According to Krishnan, both ‘decreased REM latency’ and ‘decreased slow wave sleep’ are known to be major contributors of MDD. This is because upon the necessary intervention to deal with them, most patients show improvement in the severity of symptoms of MDD (Krishnan, 2010).

Many civilian and military victims of sexual assault show symptoms which are consisted with this type of disorder. The therapy therefore intends to educate the victims on good sleep habits so that they may eliminate nightmares or flashbacks of their traumatic experiences. Many victims of sexual assault who are treated for their sleep diagnosis tend to show improvement in the elimination of the symptoms by up to 50% (Perlis, 2005).

References

Andrews, A.(2009). Encyclopedia of Depression, Volume 1. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.

Beck, A.R., & Alford, B.A. (2009). Depression: causes and treatments. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Corey, G.,(2008). Case Approach to Counseling and Psychotherapy. Independence, KY: Cengage Learning Publishers.

Follette, V.M.(2006). Cognitive-behavioral therapies for trauma. (2nd Ed.). Guilford, CT: Guilford Press.

Krishnan. (2010). Epidemiology, Pathogenesis & Neurobiology of Depression. Web.

Martinowich, K., & Lu, B.(2008). Interaction between BDNF and Serotonin: Role in Mood Diagnosis. Neuropsychophamacology: Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychophamacology, 12(3), pp.342-348.

Perlis, M.L (2005).Cognitive behavioral treatment of insomnia: a session-by-session guide. Volume 1 of Semantic web and beyond. New York, NY: Springer.

Petrak, J., & Hedge, B.(2002).The trauma of sexual assault: treatment, prevention, and practice Volume 49 of The Wiley series in clinical psychology Clinical Psychology Series. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Psych central.(2011). Web.

Schulz, P.(2011). Sexual Assault in the Military. Web.

Sexual Assault Experiences and Crisis Intervention

Any kind of crisis experience is complex and has a rich phenomenology and structure. The complexity of managing people who have faced or are facing crises is reflected in the fact that professionals involved in working with crisis survivors must be highly qualified due to the requirements imposed on them under these conditions. Sexual violence is one of the most dangerous and difficult situations in which a person can find him or herself because it always means psychological violence. The victims of sexual assault are diverse and can be both women and men, children and the elderly; therefore, specialists must be skilled in working with individuals of different ages, sexes, backgrounds, and worldviews. This paper aims to examine the behaviors of people who have experienced sexual assault, consider the recommended strategies for combating this crisis, and evaluate their effectiveness.

Background Information

The sexual abuse of a person at any age brings psychological suffering as well as multiple problems. Moreover, the consequences of harassment or abuse can be extremely varied and unpredictable. This form of a crisis can have devastating long-term effects on the victim, including the emergence of behavioral problems and low self-esteem (Kanel, 2014). Sexual assault has no boundaries, and many psychologists and researchers today emphasize that this type of violence has reached epidemic proportions. In particular, the statistics of violence against children suggest that one in every four girls under the age of 18 has been subjected to sexual violence at least once in her life, along with one in every six underage boys. The prevalence of social media networks and their active use by minors has also contributed to another tragic fact: One in every five children has suffered from harassment by other Internet users (Regehr, Alaggia, Dennis, Pitts, & Saini, 2013).

The significance of the situation lies in the fact that almost 70% of sexual abuse victims are under 17 years old. Statistics have also revealed one significant trend: Almost 85% of prisoners were victims of sexual abuse as children. The minors’ case is made even more challenging to combat because they tend to be victimized by the people they trust the most (e.g., family members, close friends, family friends). The complexity of such cases is that children are not likely to talk about the actions performed towards them, meaning that the actual statistics might be even worse (Regehr et al., 2013). Moreover, even though a child might not always recognize which actions are illegal or inappropriate, such conduct almost always affects the minor’s psychological health. The consequences of such crises can be reflected later and leave a lasting negative impact for decades.

More than 58% of females have experienced sexual harassment or attack regarding cases of violence against women. Almost all of the women in this category have gone through several forms of violence at the same time (e.g., sexual, physical, psychological) (Sullivan Everstine & Everstine, 2013). Most importantly, almost 90% of all women in the world have experienced or have witnessed violence. In addition to these alarming statistics, men can also be sexual abuse victims—either by women or by other men. For example, there have been cases when men have experienced sexual assault in prison. Also, older people may fall victim to harassment. As a rule, these victims experience abuse from family members or close friends (Sullivan Everstine & Everstine, 2013). These statistics reveal the complexity and criticality of sexual assault in the country and the world in general and the need to take immediate action to stop the crisis.

The Manifestation of Crisis and Impact on People

Every crisis situation manifests itself in different ways depending on various factors such as gender, age, and the conditions in which the violence has occurred. As a rule, most sexual assault victims have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a normal psychological and physiological reaction to strong trauma. The manifestations of PTSD may appear not only immediately after the act of violence but also after any severe stress (e.g., war, car accident, other assault) (Beck Hansen, Hansen, Nielsen, & Elklit, 2016). This syndrome manifests recurring memories of the traumatic event, which may be accompanied by sharp changes in mood, nightmares, a lack of interest in life, and in the most severe cases—hallucinations (Foa, Gillihan, & Bryant, 2013). Many people also suffer from prolonged depression or feelings of panic and anxiety.

In cases where rape occurs, another common manifestation of this crisis is rape trauma syndrome, the reactions of which can be drastically different from person to person. Some people become isolated and start denying the incident (Kanel, 2014). Other individuals react expressively and display feelings like anger or strong sadness. Also, people suffering from rape trauma syndrome may reject any assistance and express hostility toward professionals who want to help them.

In general, the victims of sexual assault show different coping strategies. Factors such as positive self-esteem, success in career or studies, an effective support system of professionals and family, and security often help a person cope with the trauma much more quickly. The core danger of this type of crisis is that if a person does not receive the necessary help and support, it can lead to tragic consequences and protracted psychological and physiological health (Kanel, 2014). Unfortunately, not every individual can cope with such a strong shock, and many people experience rape trauma syndrome for several years or even for an entire lifetime.

Consequences

The problems caused by sexual trauma can have psychological, social, sexual, and physiological nature. Very often, all four types occur at the same time. Many victims, especially those who have a more sensitive psyche, experience various psychological problems such as anxiety, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, irritability and outbursts of anger, and shock reactions when touched (Sullivan Everstine & Everstine, 2013). Often, children and young women experience self-doubt and may become disgusted with their bodies. These issues can lead to destructive behavior, which may be expressed in the use of drugs, excessive sports activity, and even such occupations as prostitution. In terms of social impact, the traumatic event can cause the victim to distrust other people and a feeling of inability to control his or her relationships with family, friends, and acquaintances, often leading to isolation.

Also, sexual assault victims frequently experience sexual problems (Sullivan Everstine & Everstine, 2013). Certain words or actions can trigger memories of the traumatic episode, and sexual desire may be accompanied by disgust. Nausea and headaches may accompany the person for a long time and pain in the neck and shoulders. Frequently, these aches are chronic and appear to have no physiological basis.

In the case of children, eating disorders also pose a great threat to health. Both refusal to eat and excessive eating can cause additional consequences for minors’ psychological and physiological health (Sullivan Everstine & Everstine, 2013). In general, sensations are the natural reactions of the body. They are associated with such mechanisms as the denial and repression of the painful experience, the mental experience of trauma, and increased irritability. Many psychologists claim that the most active assistance should be provided during the first months because, after that period, it becomes more difficult to mitigate the negative consequences to the victim’s health.

Importantly, the initial intervention in such a dramatic and complex situation involves communication between the crisis worker and the victim. It is essential to show empathy and assurance, emphasizing that the most important thing is that the person is alive and that all other problems will be solved gradually (Sullivan Everstine & Everstine, 2013). Moreover, it is essential to build trust to ensure that the victimized person feels secure and recognizes that they are no longer in danger. This intervention implies building a working alliance. Other primary interventions include listening and responding to the victim’s questions to know what happens next and feels as confident as possible that the required care will be furnished (James & Gilliland, 2013). At this point, the crisis worker must be patient and strive to minimize possible nervous outbursts from the victim.

Apart from these strategies, the specialist’s responsibility is to inform the individual about what measures will be taken and what procedures the victim has to undergo (e.g., medical check, police questioning). This role is significant because the victim is experiencing immense stress. He or she might be reluctant to talk to the police or have any physical contact with people, even a nursing specialist (James & Gilliland, 2013). The first two weeks are the most crucial ones, and the severity of the trauma will depend on the specialist’s effectiveness.

Primary Interventions

The victimized person might be experiencing dissociation and shock and may have certain somatic reactions, which will inevitably bring confusion both to the victim’s identity and the procedures that should be followed. Thus, the worker is responsible for providing supervision and guidance and making sure that the individual takes the necessary physical examinations and reports to the police. The psychological support for the victim should be continuous. The worker’s goal is to evaluate the person’s state of mobility and gather the necessary information in a shame-free and comforting setting (James & Gilliland, 2013). All questions asked of the victim should be closed-ended so that they do not have to discuss the disturbing moments. Notably, it is important to express empathy towards the person, so they feel sincere concern from the specialist (James & Gilliland, 2013). If this intervention is not followed, it is likely that the client will be reluctant to proceed. At this point, the worker should initiate the predisposition task. Its effectiveness depends on the attachment between the victim and the specialist and the existence of an environment that is safe, bias-free, and supportive.

Follow-up Interventions

The advanced measures imply secondary victim crisis interventions. In other words, the worker should make sure that no secondary victimization can take place. Unfortunately, family members, partners, friends, and other people might directly or involuntarily cause the individual’s second victimization due to their need to find the motive for the sexual assault (James & Gilliland, 2013). They might ask inappropriate questions and even blame the victim for the act of violence. The crisis worker’s role is to educate the family and the people close to the survivor on the appropriate conduct and explain the significance of support.

Because sexual harassment and assault can lead to PTSD, it is of paramount importance not to let the person retreat into memories of the assault and to provide assistance to family members so that they do not blame themselves for the inability to prevent the traumatic event (Beck Hansen et al., 2016). The importance of support should not be underestimated. It is crucial to determine which people can provide empathetic help to the survivor and instruct them on the relevant coping strategies (James & Gilliland, 2013). If the survivor feels safe around certain people and is capable of caring and nonjudgmental understanding, they can significantly help them overcome the emotional and psychological suffering.

It should be stressed that any sexual assault intervention should include three phases: safety, processing, and reintegration. At first, the victim should gain a feeling of security, and then he or she should receive psychoeducation to know how to let go of the traumatic memories (James & Gilliland, 2013). Finally, the worker should assist the survivor in grounding. The victim should not deny the occurrence as extinguishing the trauma is important. Through cognitive restructuring, the victim will overcome any negative or distorted beliefs connected to their personality.

Further on, skill-building is also essential. The survivor should be taught how to make self-determining choices to become more autonomous and self-reliant. It is essential to emphasize that support groups are of great help (James & Gilliland, 2013). Even though victims might refuse to join group activities at first, it is important to advise them to participate since they would be able to share their ideas and coping strategies and simply have mutual discussions with people who understand how an assaulted person feels.

Conclusion

Sexual assault is one of the strongest stressors in a person’s life and can cause long-term psychological and physiological consequences. This form of violence changes the victim’s views on life, others, and himself or herself. Frequently, survivors have weak control over themselves and their lives and suffer from an overabundance of negative emotions, thoughts, and recurring memories. Sexual violence involves intertwined medical, legal, social, and cultural problems that can lead to secondary victimization, lifelong injuries, and the inability to return to a normal life. In this regard, crisis workers aim to support and supervise survivors throughout all stages of the crisis. Sexual assault victims need to have a safe environment from the very beginning to overcome their fears as soon as possible and be healed from the psychological and physiological trauma.

References

Beck Hansen, N., Hansen, M., Nielsen, L., & Elklit, A. (2016). Positive or negative change in outlook on life following sexual assault and associations to PTSD severity. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 32(1), 36-45.

Foa, E. B., Gillihan, S. J., & Bryant, R. A. (2013). Challenges and successes in dissemination of evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress: Lessons learned from prolonged exposure for PTSD. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14, 65-111.

James, R. K., & Gilliland, B. E. (2013). Crisis intervention strategies (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.

Kanel, K. (2014). A guide to crisis intervention. Boston, MA: Cengage.

Regehr, C., Alaggia, R., Dennis, J., Pitts, A., & Saini, M. (2013). Interventions to reduce distress in adult victims of rape and sexual violence. Research on Social Work Practice, 23(3), 257-265.

Sullivan Everstine, D., & Everstine, L. (2013). Strategic interventions for people in crisis, trauma, and disaster. Abington, UK: Routledge.

Trauma and Sexual Assault

Introduction

Trauma results from painful or distressful emotional and psychological effects of painful events. Briere and Scot (2006) posit, “Trauma is used to refer to both negative events that produce distress and the distress itself” (p. 3). Thus, trauma is an emotional and psychological distress that occurs in response to negative painful events.

Trauma overwhelms the ability of people to cope with traumatic events, thus rendering them powerless in the face of adversity. When one experiences a negative event that is shocking or extraordinary, fears develop, which eventually lead to trauma. Trauma weakens the emotional and psychological strengths of people, which makes them helpless for they cannot overcome traumatic experiences.

In society, traumatic experiences that one can encounter include sexual assault, death of a close person, violence, war, disasters, accidents, and witnessing of horrific death among others. Fundamentally, trauma emanates from diverse traumatic experiences that people face in the course of life. Hence, this essay describes trauma in terms of nature and cause before examining sexual assault as a type of trauma and its spiritual and professional therapies, which enable people to cope.

Nature of Trauma

Trauma in psychology refers to the impact of traumatic experiences on emotional, biological, and psychological aspects of human beings. Flannery (1999) postulates, “traumatic events may arise when an individual is confronted with actual or threatened death or serious injury or some other threat to one’s physical integrity” (p.78).

Trauma can also occur when one witnesses others undergoing traumatic experiences such as wars, disasters, robbery, and violence. Experience of these traumatic events causes people to develop intense fear, shock, and feelings of helplessness. Trauma destabilizes mental and emotional status, and thus force people to become susceptible to subsequent traumatic experiences. It is hard for a traumatized individual to endure other traumatic events because trauma has a cumulative effect on emotional and psychological stability.

One unique thing about trauma is that it depends on the ability of an individual to cope with traumatic events. Different people have different capacities of coping with traumatic events in life. Normally, traumatic events cause trauma when they overwhelm psychological, physical, and emotional capacity of an individual.

Risk factors such as limited social support, genetics, limited intelligence, and deficient formal education enhance susceptibility to trauma. Moreover, Flannery (1999) asserts, “prior mental illness, dysfunctional family life, and a previous history of being traumatized all increase the risk of impaired functioning in the face of traumatic events” (p. 79). This assertion shows that a combination of congenital, social, mental health, and historical factors contribute to the vulnerability of an individual to the trauma.

Traumatized individuals usually exhibit three kinds of symptoms, viz. “intrusive symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and arousal symptoms” (Barlow, 2007, p.67). Intrusive symptoms entail constant recollection of traumatic events that caused the trauma. Intrusive symptoms occur when an individual relives the traumatic events.

Therapists should be cautious not to make clients to relive their traumatic experiences for they cause great distress in the form of intrusive symptoms, which remind them of their ordeal (Stein, et al. 2000). Traumatized individuals can also exhibit avoidance symptoms by avoiding thoughts and places that relate to traumatic events, poor recollection of the events, loss of interest in certain events, and restricted emotions.

Barlow (2007) argues, “Avoidance and numbing symptoms reflect an individual’s attempt to gain psychological and emotional distance from trauma” (p. 66). Avoidance symptoms show that an individual is struggling to suppress and overcome the impacts of traumatic events. Irritability, insomnia, hyper-vigilance, angry outbursts, and loss of concentration are some of the arousal symptoms of trauma. The symptoms indicate that traumatic experiences cause emotional and psychological disturbance on a traumatized individual.

Causes of Trauma

Accident is one of the factors that cause development of trauma in an individual. Accidents form part of traumatic events, which are honorific for many people lose their lives, some sustain disabling injuries, and others survive with trauma.

Briere and Scott (2006) state that about 20 per cent of people in the United States have faced critical motor vehicles accidents and “a substantial number of these people go on to develop significant psychological disturbance, especially if the accident involved major injury or resulted into death of others” (p.7).

The traumatic experiences of the accidents predispose people to trauma because they do not only threaten lives of the people, but also elicit horrific feelings due to the psychological and emotional impacts of accidents.

Natural disasters also cause trauma amongst people. Given that natural disasters cause massive destruction of property and lives, they constitute traumatic experiences. In the United States, about 15 per cent of the population has experienced natural disasters such as hurricanes, avalanches, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, floods, earthquakes, and outbreak of fires (Yehuda, 1998).

Natural disasters cause death, loss of property, and grave injuries all of which have significant impacts in causing trauma amongst the affected people. Barlow (2007) states that natural disasters are responsible for the occurrence of extensive trauma in society as natural disasters cause massive destruction of lives and property. Hence, victims of natural disasters require immense social support and counseling so that they can manage traumatic experiences that they have undergone.

Battering of partners in marriage is another cause of trauma at the family level. Victims of partner battery are often women because they cannot overpower their male counterparts. Briere and Scott (2006) state that about 25 per cent of married couples or those living with their partners have at least experienced one incident of battery, while about 12 per cent have experienced physical harm from choking, kicking, and punching.

These traumatic experiences explain why women have high rates of trauma or are more vulnerable to trauma than men are. The violent experiences force women to become dependent, lose social control, and harbor fears of anxiety.

Carll (2007) clarifies, “in addition to the physical violence, women are often emotionally or psychologically abused and frequently sexually abused and/or stalked within the context of intimate relationships” (p. 261). Persistent violence in marriages or relationships results into traumatic bonding, which causes women to endure the violence despite the fact that it is causing trauma.

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault generally involves forceful sexual act that a person(s) commits against another without due consent. Usually, women and children are the leading victims of sexual assault because they are prone to rape and other forms of sexual abuses. The dominant sexual assault is rape, which is an act of compelling someone to have sexual intercourse without consent.

Sexual assault is an ordeal experience that traumatizes the involved victims. It entails a violation of physical, emotional, and psychological integrity of a person, thus resulting into trauma. James, Gilliland, and Lloyd (2012) posit, “Abundant evidence suggests that crises resulting from sexual abuse and rape are more intense and differ in nature, intensity, and extent from other forms of crisis” (p. 56).

Owing to the intense trauma that sexual assault causes among victims, its treatment is similar to that of post-traumatic stress syndrome acquired from traumatic experiences of combat.

Social and cultural factors are responsible for the occurrence of sexual assault in society. In the social aspect, gender inequality, social disorganization, legitimization of violence, and pornography are some of the factors that contribute to sexual assault. Gender inequality predisposes women to sexual assault because they have lower social, economic, legal, and political status than men do.

Social disorganization refers to loss of social control in society, which makes women to be susceptible to acts of sexual abuse. The aspect of legitimization of violence involves the support that society provides to acts of violence. In a society that supports acts of violence, women are very vulnerable to sexual abuse.

Pornography causes sexual assault and as James, Gilliland, and Lloyd (2012) argue, “pornography reduces women to sex objects, promotes male dominance, and encourages or condones sexual violence against women” (p. 250). Hence, social factors that are present in society are the principal causes of sexual assault among women.

Cultural factors also contribute to the occurrence of sexual abuses. Many cultures across the world support supremacy of men in the society. Men supremacy in cultural contexts gives men the power to control and access women bodies without seeking consent from them. Different cultures deny women their rights of controlling their bodies or reproductive health.

Hence, due to men supremacy, women become subjects in the society for they have no rights to own their bodies or consent to sexual acts. Additionally, psychological factors cause sexual abuse. James, Gilliland, and Lloyd (2012) assert, “Personal and psychological factors that are unique to men who perpetrate sexual abuse affect both their decision to assault and the way an assault is carried out” (p. 250).

Male offenders normally commit sexual assault to punish women, as a crime, attain sexual satisfaction, lust, recreation activity, and take control of women. Therefore, personal and psychological factors drive men to commit sexual assault against women.

Factors Necessary for Successful Coping

Successful coping with trauma depends on the nature of trauma and the ability of an individual to overcome the trauma. Traumatized individuals have different capacities of coping with trauma. The impact of traumatic experiences on individuals varies from one person to another depending on personal attributes (Sherin & Nemeroff, 2011).

While some people are sensitive to traumatic experiences and take long to recover, others are tolerant and take a short period to recover. According to Flannery (1999, p.79), “reasonable mastery, caring attachments to others, and a meaningful purpose in life” are three factors that enable victims of trauma to cope successfully. Reasonable mastery is the capacity of a traumatized individual to utilize environmental factors in coping with the trauma.

Normally, as traumatic events are overwhelming and beyond control, the victims of the traumatic events react by exhibiting hyper-vigilance symptoms, which is a defense reaction. In sexual assault, reasonable mastery entails the ability of the victims to overcome the trauma by managing fears and suppressing them from causing further psychological torture.

Caring attachment is another factor that enhances successful coping in traumatic instances. For one to cope with traumatic experiences and overcome their impacts on one’s life, caring attachment to others is imperative. Traumatized individuals normally experience a sense of helplessness and isolation, thus require assistance from others for them to cope with trauma. Family members and friends provide social support, which enables the victims to overcome the trauma.

Studies have shown that the absence of caring attachment from family members and friends is responsible for poor recovery of victims of trauma (Wilson & Keane, 2004). In this case, sexual assault causes intensive trauma, and thus it requires social support to recover. Continued stigmatization of the victims of sexual assault in society worsens the recovery process.

Having meaningful perception of life enhances successful coping of trauma. People who have a positive perception of the world relative to their traumatic experiences have resilience of coping with trauma. Bisson and Andrew (2997) assert that trauma is subjective as it depends on psychological status of an individual.

Some people are more vulnerable to the trauma than others are because people have different psychological perceptions and resilience. In this case, victims of sexual assault who understand the impact of trauma can manage it and live a positive life, which enhances their quick recovery.

Spiritual Therapy

Spiritually oriented therapies play a central role in enabling victims of sexual assault to cope with trauma. A number of psychotherapists have noted that spiritually oriented therapies have a significant impact in the recovery process of a traumatized individual. The common spiritually oriented therapy, which employs serenity prayer, is a 12-step program.

According to Meichenbaum (2008), serenity prayer states, “God, give me the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other” (p. 22). Spiritually oriented therapies require therapists to be more responsive and sensitive to the religious beliefs of clients. Understanding religious beliefs and perception of clients in issues related to sexual assault is critical in enhancing the effectiveness of the therapy.

Psychotherapists also should incorporate spiritual orientated therapies into normal psychotherapies. The incorporating of spiritually oriented therapies into conventional therapies is important because they enhance the effectiveness of the therapies (Anderson, 2007). Since sexual assault causes intensive trauma that overwhelms an individual, different religions believe that spiritual help empowers the victims.

People believe that spiritual powers come from God, thus they have the power to emancipate victims from trauma for such people are helpless and vulnerable in society. This aspect means that spiritual-oriented therapies provide means through which an individual can cope with trauma.

According to Meichenbaum (2008), “one outcome of engaging in spiritual coping activities is to reduce the likelihood of victimized individuals engaging in such ‘negative, self-disparaging, stress-endangering’ story-telling to oneself and to others” (p. 7). Thus, the incorporation of spiritual interventions in psychotherapies is important in enabling victims of sexual assault to cope with trauma.

Professional Therapy

Feminine group therapy is one of the therapies that are effective in treatment of trauma associated with sexual assault. It is applicable in adult victims for they have different coping abilities from young people. The therapy utilizes an approach that is integrative because it aims at addressing cognitive, physical, spiritual, and emotional aspects of a person. Since trauma destabilizes physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual aspects of the victims, feminine group therapy focuses on stabilizing them.

Gerrity, Kalodner, DeLucia-Waack, and Riva (2003) posit, “Feminists have supported group therapy as a strong and significant intervention for females who have been sexually abused” (p. 499). As the healing process of women entails learning how to trust and relate with others, feminist group therapy reduces guilt, shame, and isolation among victims of sexual assault.

Family therapy is another effective therapy that is applicable in treatment of sexual trauma. Underwood, Stewart, and Castellanos (2007) argue, “Although group therapy may recreate a sense of family, some researchers have found family therapy itself to be effective in treating sexually traumatized females” (p.406). Family forms an important part of a victim’s life because it provides the necessary social support. Moreover, family provides immediate caring support that is responsive to the needs of a traumatized member.

Mode deactivation therapy is a form of therapy that aims at deactivating negative symptoms of trauma, which traumatized individuals display. Usually, traumatized youths are very reactive as they display aggressive behaviors, which worsen their trauma.

Research shows that mode deactivation therapy “is effective in reducing aggression and suicidal ideations among the population of sexually traumatized individuals” (Underwood, Stewart, & Castellanos, 2007, p.407). Hence, mode deactivation therapy plays a central role in treatment of sexually assaulted individuals.

Conclusion

Trauma occurs due to traumatic experiences that one has undergone. Traumatic experiences destabilize emotional, psychological, and physical aspects of an individual, thus generating negative feelings. Trauma makes an individual to lose hope in life because for negative feelings are overwhelming at times.

Accidents, natural disasters, and partner battery are some factors that cause trauma in society. Since traumatic experiences vary from one person to another, coping factors are different too. For instance, sexual assault is the common cause of trauma amongst women because men abuse them sexually.

Hence, in a bid to help women to overcome trauma associated with sexual assault, spiritually oriented therapies are necessary. Moreover, professional therapies such as group therapy, family therapy, and mode deactivation therapy are applicable in treatment of trauma associated with sexual assault.

References

Anderson, C. (2007). An exploration of therapists’ assessment of religious/spiritual coping among adolescents in treatment for sexual abuse. New York, NY: ProQuest Information and Learning Company.

Barlow, D. (2007). Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: A step-by-step treatment manual. London, UK: Guilford Press.

Bisson J., & Andrew, M. (1997). Psychological treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1(3), 1-98.

Briere, J., & Scott, C. (2006). Principles of trauma therapy: A guide to symptoms, evaluation, and treatment. New York, NY: SAGE Publisher.

Carll, E. (2007). Trauma psychology: Issues in violence, disaster, health, and illness. Ontario, Canada: Green Publishing Group.

Flannery, R. (1999). Psychological trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder: A review. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 2(1), 77-82.

Gerrity, D., Kalodner, C., DeLucia-Waack, J., & Riva, M. (2003). Handbook of group counseling and psychotherapy. New York, NY: SAGE Publisher.

James, R., Gilliland, B., & Lloyd, J. (2012). Crisis intervention strategies. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.

Meichenbaum, D. (2008). Trauma, spirituality, and recovery: Toward a spiritual-integrated psychology. Web.

Sherin, J., & Nemeroff, C. (2011). Post-traumatic stress disorder: the neurobiological impact of psychological trauma. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 13(3), 162-278.

Stein, D., Herman, A., Kaminer, D., Rataemane, S., Seedat, S., Kessler, R., & Williams, D. (2000). Ethical aspects of research on psychological trauma. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 2(1), 31-36.

Underwood, L., Stewart, S., & Castellanos, A. (2007). Effective practices for sexually traumatized girls: Implications for counseling and education. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 3(3), 403-413.

Wilson, J., & Keane, T. (2004). Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD. London, UK: Guilford Press.

Yehuda, R. (1998). Psychological trauma: Review of psychology. New York, NY: American Psychiatric Publisher.

Sexual Assault and Role of Law Enforcement

Henry, N., Flynn, A., & Powell, A. (2018). Policing image-based sexual abuse: Stakeholder perspectives. Police practice and research, 19(6), 565-581.

The non-consensual recording, dissemination, or threat of releasing nude or sexual photos is called image-based sexual abuse (IBSA). Numerous countries have changed their criminal laws over the last five years to address this expanding phenomenon, although increasing criminalization has not always resulted in more prosecutions. This paper investigates law enforcement reactions to IBSA in Australia using stakeholder interviews with 52 Australian legal and policy experts, domestic and sexual assault activists, industry leaders, police, and academics. Therefore, even though evidence indicates that police are taking IBSA more seriously, there are five main obstacles to responding to IBSA, including varying legal requirements, a lack of resources, restrictions on the admissibility of evidence, jurisdictional limits, and victim-blaming or harm minimization attitudes. This article is current and reliable since it is a peer-reviewed journal and the authors are experts in the criminology and social justice field. Admittedly, this educative piece will be important in the study since it helps the researcher understand how IBSA affects society. Additionally, it highlights the obstacles that limit attempts to punish sexual assault criminals.

Banerjee, S. (2020). Identifying factors of sexual violence against women and protecting their rights in Bangladesh. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 52, 101384.

Since it perpetuates women’s subordination and patriarchal institutions at all societal levels, sexual violence against women is recognized as a violation of gender-specific human rights. Given the prevalence of sexual assault against women, Bangladeshi policymakers focus more on protecting women’s rights. Identifying the causes of sexual assault against women in Bangladesh is the next goal of this essay. The paper describes women’s obstacles in accessing the court system today. The author also shows the social and psychological effects of sexual assault victims. The article contains current information since it was published within the last five years. Additionally, it is reliable since the author is a professor in the criminology and police Science department in Bangladesh. This journal will be useful in understanding the effects of sexual assaults on victims. Hence, it will help determine the type of punishments that should be applied to sexual assault criminals.

Foster, P. J., & Fullagar, C. J. (2018). Why don’t we report sexual harassment? An application of the theory of planned behavior. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 40(3), 148-160.

According to the study, a person’s propensity to report a case of hostile environment sexual harassment was predicted by their views about the activity, normative beliefs, and perceived behavioral control. There was no difference in reporting hostile environment sexual harassment by gender, even though women expressed a stronger intention to do so. The hypothesis of planned conduct as a model for anticipating a person’s choice to report sexual harassment is supported by our findings. These results guide the creation of policies, processes, and training programs to make incident reporting easier. The article is current and reliable since it is a peer-reviewed journal authored by experts in the criminology field. The source will be useful since it will help the researcher evaluate the reasons why people fail to report sexual harassment cases. This information is crucial in understanding what types of punishments are suitable for sexual assault criminals.

Horton, A. (2022). Sexual assault in the military continues to rise despite efforts to reverse it. The Washington Post.

The author of a Washington Post article titled “Sexual assault in the military continues to climb despite attempts to reverse” focuses on this problem. The author’s conclusion that the situation is out of control is one of the important ones. In 2021, there were 13% more instances of sexual assault than in 2020 (Horton, 2022). Regarding the problem of sexual assault, the piece includes several expert statements, including those from the Pentagon. Experts cite commander conduct as one of the primary causes why such instances go unresolved. As a result, there are more instances of sexual assault, and people have less faith in leaders. I will use a case that happened to a close family member as an example of a real-life scenario. This situation is comparable to the one discussed in the Washington Post article, which led to mistrust in the ruling class and its repercussions. Her biological father, who was in the military, sexually molested this family member.

The post is current and reliable since it is from a trusted news website. This article will be crucial in answering the research question since it is paramount to understand the available punishments and how they have been received. It also highlights the challenges that hinder the successful elimination of sexual assaults. With this information, the researcher can propose possible punishments for sexual harassment criminals.

Waldron, R. J., Quarles, C. L., McElreath, D. H., Waldron, M. E., & Milstein, D. E. (2017). The criminal justice system: An introduction, (5th ed.). CRC Press.

Introduction to the Criminal Justice System, the fifth edition of this textbook, keeps the fundamental structure of earlier editions while including the most recent advancements in the subject. The book travels chronologically through the various criminal justice systems, including the police, prosecutors, courts, and prisons, including probation and parole. Additionally, expertise from the criminal justice sector can assist stop numerous tactics for hiding the crime in the story in The Washington Post and the actual occurrence. The number of sexual assault cases in the US military will decline with thorough investigation and just punishment. Applying the judicial system will also reestablish trust in the executive and military branches. The information in the book is relevant and reliable in addressing the research question. To propose well-grounded punishments, it is essential to understand the available criminal justice systems and facilities. In most cases, sexual assault crimes are hidden due to fear and lack of a supportive system. Therefore, the content in this book will help the researcher assess what punishments can best overcome the possible barriers.

References

Banerjee, S. (2020). Identifying factors of sexual violence against women and protecting their rights in Bangladesh. Aggression and violent behavior, 52, 101384.

Foster, P. J., & Fullagar, C. J. (2018). Why don’t we report sexual harassment? An application of the theory of planned behavior. Basic and applied social psychology, 40(3), 148-160.

Henry, N., Flynn, A., & Powell, A. (2018). Policing image-based sexual abuse: Stakeholder perspectives. Police practice and research, 19(6), 565-581.

Horton, A. (2022). The Washington Post.

Waldron, R. J., Quarles, C. L., McElreath, D. H., Waldron, M. E., & Milstein, D. E. (2017). The criminal justice system: An introduction, (5th ed.). CRC Press.

Sexual Assault and Its Effects

Sexual assault in general can be used to refer to any abusive action against an individual which takes a sexual nature. Sexual assaults cover a broad range of behaviors that include the sexual attempts of, but not including penetration. These actions are considered as sexual assaults when the victim is not willful or capable of consenting to the advances; for the reasons of age, disability, or the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sexual assault may involve real or threatened use of force, coercion, pressure or intimidation. Some of the actions that may be termed to as sexual assault include; intended touching of the victims private parts like the genitals or breasts; voyeurism, subjection to exhibitionism, un-willful subjection to pornography; or the public exposure of privately intended photos without the consent of the victim. However it should further be noted that an act of sexual assault is determined and defined using the laws of the place where the assault takes place; as these laws are greatly reflective of social and cultural models. In the U.S alone; up to three hundred thousand females are raped, one out of every two women that amounts to 3.7 million deal with at a level of unwanted sexual engagements, and an approximated 9% of the 900,000 cases of child mistreatment; sexually abused by adults. From research carried out in the U.S, it was evident that one out of every six women face instances of sexual assault within their lifetime. However due to the high cases of child and prison rape; on average 10% of all rape victims happen to be males (DeLisi & Conis, 2008).

According to the statistics on sexual assault carried out in 1995; 95,000 sexual assaults and intimidations related to sexual assault were carried out against individuals twelve years of age or more. In the year 1998 approximately 62, 045 arrests were made for offenses associated to sexual assault. From the study it was also evident that these assaults often took place between 6 PM in the evenings and midnight hours(DeLisi & Conis, 2008).

From the study it was also evident that most of the assault cases were carried out on urban residents, financially poor individuals and young persons between the ages of sixteen and nineteen years. Under this area it should also be noted that sexual assault by family members is the most common form of child sexual assault; where the offender is a teenage or an adult family member or relative. Another issue which is leading to the increase of this problem is the increased number of divorces that are bringing children not born of the same parents together. Another cause that can be attributed to the increasing instances of sexual assault is the breakdown of the strong familial bonds, and the heightened level of opportunism. Other sources of statistics indicate that 10 % of all teachers at some point have assaulted a child in the name of helping the young learners. Other parties who have been found to assault minors include day-care providers, priests among other religious officials, coaches; and members of the helping career like counselors and doctors (DeLisi & Conis, 2008).

Based on recent research studies and research carried out in the U.S it is evident that; the incidence of sexual crimes that include rape and sexual assault have reduced as seen from the statistics in the ‘federal crime data’, despite the significant increase in the number of other violent offenses. An evidence to these contentions; the justice department in 1997 documented 2.8 cases of sexual assault out of every 1000 individuals; while in 2004 the number decreased to 0.4 out of the same 1000 persons. From the research it is clear that there has been a significant decrease in the sexual assault offenses over the past ten years (DeLisi & Conis, 2008).

The factors or causes that may be leading to the instance of these crimes are rather varied ranging from society related inconsistencies; to individual’s deficiencies. One of the factors that were found to lead to the offense of sexual assault was the instance of unresolved needs and conflicts in the offenders past. As a result of these unresolved past experiences and the need for acceptance and appreciation, these individuals fall victims of depression which often bursts through assaulting behavior. Another factor that was found to be a cause of the assaulting behavior was the negative events that resulted to feelings of helplessness; most of which take place at the age of sixteen but go unnoticed or are not treated seriously. Most of the offenders, who had carried out sexual assault, consisted of individuals who experienced sexually related trauma or sexual victimization in their childhood years. Other offenders showed that they were going through self-identity and personality problems; where for instance a man feels insecure about his masculinity which leads to poor social interactions, isolation and a sense of inadequacy. Some of the societal deficiencies of not addressing the needs of the socially unstable like the poor and the mentally impaired; further increased the instance of sexual assault as these individuals deviate their anger and frustration on their victims with the view of retaliating to the society. Other likely causes of sexual assault include physiological and neurophysiology related factors like the unstable chemical imbalance of hormones in the offenders’ body, brain related abnormalities and intellectual traumas related to past experiences. Another possible cause for the sexually assaulting behavior of these offenders is the high drug and alcohol intake associated with such individuals. Other minor factors that may be leading the sexual assaulting behavior include misunderstanding of the victims intentions; cultural formulations that promote violence against women; and the effect of the media like pornography on the sexual views of the offenders (Reidel & Wayne, 2007).

Some of the prevention strategies that can be used to overcome the current challenge of sexual assault are employing preventive measures and skills in individuals who could be possible targets of the offense. One of the preventive strategies is learning to be assertive where one enforces their rights without necessarily affecting the others; trusting in own instincts when the victim is uncomfortable about a situation or a person; avoiding to be predictable and not being afraid to make a sign in the case they note an attempt for assault. The other preventive strategy to be applied is being alert with the new acquaintances one meets; so as not to be left with strangers alone; not to get drunk among strangers, avoid secluded locations; practice care in welcoming strangers to the house and clearly define sexual limits and intentions. Other strategies to help overcome the problem of sexual assault, is being alert when alone not to be caught in insufficiently lit places or deserted areas. In the case that the victim senses trouble then they should be able to move away from the possible threat, and communicate it to parties who are capable of helping like the police. As a legal strategy to prevent sexual assault; the authorities in place should be able to arrest and offer penal action on sexual offenders which may involve stern measures like chemical castration. There should be a provision for counseling and assistance for the victims and the offender especially where the offense is a first time instance or involves an individual with personality related problems.

Other strategies that can be employed to overcome the problem are offering community education with regard to what to do when a victim is confronted by an assault case; which preventive measures should be applied in varied cases, and the moves to be employed. Sex offenders should be subjected to a ‘sex offenders’ treatment program’; where different corrective approaches are employed depending on the factors underlying the crime (Reidel & Wayne, 2007).

With regard to the effectiveness of the current control measures of the police, courts and the correction systems; the police have not been very effective in offering interviews, arrests and prior data collection after a sexual assault has been committed. This is the case because due to the fright and trauma resulting from the assault; the victim may not be an accurate source of information and therefore the responsiveness of this party should be greatly alert; so as to be able to make the arrest in time and any other necessary formalities. With regard to the courts; it has been found that in such cases a prosecuting attorney may not be willing to carryout the case unless the victim is perceived to be a reliable, believable, strong witness. This is further the case because the police prove skeptical in the provision of the information, as these two parties rather cause the victim to appear like they are deceitful than supporting their case. As a result this case has been found to cause further trauma in the victims, than in helping save the situation. Concerning the corrections system, it is evident from recent studies that due to the misrepresentation of the case, the courts arrive at a wrong decision often driven by the police and the prosecuting attorneys; as well as corruption based on wealth and power practiced within the system. In the cases that the victims are poor; they may also have a difficulty in finding a reliable attorney, who can present their case in an audible manner (Reidel & Wayne, 2007).

Based on the discussion it is evident that often if not always; the victims do not receive a deserved penalty administered against their victimizers. This is the case because the responsiveness of the police is poor, the courts are unfriendly to the non-influential members of society, and the victims have no voice over their victimizers. As recommendations; the victim should be able to report the case the soonest an assault takes place especially before the lapse of 72 hours, attempt to have individuals who can act as witnesses in enforcing their case avail themselves, as well as report to the authorities and push for immediate action. With regard to the attorneys and courts; they should be able to offer friendly hearing despite the social status of the victim or ability to afford a competitive lawyer to present their case. With regard to the community in general, individuals should be made aware of the problem of sexual assault, ways to avoid it and measures to employ in the case it takes place (DeLisi & Conis, 2008).

Reference list

DeLisi, M. & Conis, P. (2008).Violent Offenders: Theory, Research, Public Policy and Practice. Boston: Jones and Barlett Publishers

Reidel, M. & Wayne, W. (2007). Criminal Violence: Patterns, Causes, and Prevention. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing