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Queen Angu

Dr. Cuddy

Eng 102

09 April 2017

The Impacts of Sexual Assault on Women on College Campuses

Sexual assault can occur in many different forms and happens more often than it is

reported, but the one thing that stays constant is that it is never the victims fault. The U.S.

Department of Justice defines sexual assault as, any type of sexual contact or behavior that

occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient Some of these behaviors include sexual

activities such as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling,

and attempted rape (U.S. Department of Justice). Any unwanted behavior towards another

human being can be detrimental, but aggressors have a hard time understanding the severity of

such heinous behaviors and the impacts that they have on their victims. These terrible acts have

been so normalized, so much that some perpetrators have trouble realizing that their behavior is

assault. Sexual violence against women, particularly on college campuses, has been an ongoing

problem that has very negative effects and can impact how these women live the rest of their

lives. Females ages 18 to 24 have the highest rape and sexual assault victimizations compared

to females in all other age groups within the 18 to 24 age group, victims could be identified as

students enrolled in college, university, trade school, or vocational school (Sinozich, BJS Intern

& Langton, Ph.D., BJS Statistician). A good public service announcement campaign would

certainly help this issue if targeted towards young adults, since sexual attacks are most prevalent

amongst college-aged groups. The impacts of sexual assault can affect a womans physical,
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psychological, and social conditions. Helping to prevent sexual assault is an important issue

because it has been downplayed due to the vast majority of media shifting its focus on the

political issues of the world. Gaining back the relevance and spreading consciousness of sexual

assault will certainly make a difference to potential victims and their families.

Sexual assault is a crime that violates and imposes harm on the victims body, and the

bodys response to the assault can happen in many different forms. Sometimes, there is no

physical evidence of injuries, but that does not mean that sexual assault didnt take place.

Physical effects to trauma can happen immediately after the experience or can occur later on.

The immediate physical effects a person can experience after a sexual assault or rape can

include: bruising, bleeding (vaginal or anal), difficulty walking, soreness, and broken or

dislocated bones (Joyful Heart Foundation). Victims of sexual assault go through immense

physical pain after their attack. It is bad enough that the immediate pain that is inflicted upon

victims can change their lives negatively. However, there are prolonged physical effects that can

make it worse for the victim through time. About 68% of women among 357 women living

with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. reported a history of sexual assault (N. Sarkar & Rina Sarkar). The

national rape-related pregnancy rate is 5.0% per rape among victims aged 12 to 45 among

34 cases of rape-related pregnancy, the majority occurred among adolescents (M.M. Holmes).

Its sickening to cope with the fact that your unborn child is a result of rape, especially since the

pregnancy was not planned. All of these physical effects of sexual assault directly cause issues to

a womans life, and the fact that most victims have to cope with these changes during their

college years make their reality even worse.

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As previously stated, sexual assault has many physical impacts, but sometimes the mental

effects can hurt way more than any physical pain. This traumatic event drastically changes the

lives of women, and often results in them having changes in their mental health. Many women

experience this trauma as a fundamental betrayal of their sense of self, identity, judgement, and

safety (Janoff-Bulman, 1992). Their minds are filled with negative thoughts and memories that

link back to the attack. 60% of female victims of sexual assault reported some feelings of

mental pollution subsequent to the assault... Deliberate recall of the assault resulted in a

strange feeling of distress and the urge to wash (Fairbrother & Rachman, 2004). These women

are in a state of distress when they flashback to these negative experiences. Their minds are

tainted with the gruesome memories of their assault and it makes them feel vulnerable to the

experience all over again. Often times, women get the sudden obsession to clean themselves

because they feel dirty or impure due to the fact that they were violated. Between 31% and 65%

of rape survivors develop PTSD, and 38% to 43% meet diagnostic criteria for major depression

(Kilpatrick & Acierno, 2003). Women develop serious mental disorders after experiencing

sexual assault. Many of these disorders make it harder for them to experience life in a normal

way. Sexual assault affects a womans ability to have a clear mind and healthy mental health.

Unlike the physical and mental impacts of sexual assault, which directly affects the

victims self, the social impacts can affect their lifestyle and others around them. Sexual assault

on women, unlike any other offence, leaves a deep-rooted effect or stigma in the body and mind

of a woman who has to live the rest of her life in society with the unpleasant shadow of this

incident (N. Sarkar & Rina Sarkar). Sexual assault can affect the lifestyle of women in many

ways such as relationships with their family, friends, significant others, and children. It can even
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affect their jobs, income, and religious beliefs. Having gone through that painful experience can

shape the way these victims see other people they may come across in life. They might be

hesitant to start new relationships with others, and intimacy can be difficult after suffering such

an attack. Frequency of sexual contact decreased after sexual assault. Satisfaction and pleasure

in sexual activities seemed to diminish (N. Sarkar & Rina Sarkar). Sexual contact becomes

disturbing to these individuals because they were violated in that manner, and it may cause them

to have flashbacks of the attack. These victims view the world as a more frightening and

threatening place to live after they have been assaulted. Referring back to the affects it has on

their social life, jobs, and finances, some victims may stop their normal participation in their

groups/organizations or stop going to work out of fear. Sexual assault can change the way

women see others and live their everyday lives.

Sexual assault occurs in many different forms and happens very often, but it is never the

victims fault. It should be easily perceived that any unwanted behavior towards another human

being can be malign, but some people have a hard time understanding the severity of such

heinous behaviors and the devastating impacts that they have on their victims. Sexual violence

against women, particularly on college campuses, is a relevant topic. Given that there are so

many cases of sexual assault that happen at college campuses, it is important that communities

work together to seize this issue. This topic may hit home to society if put into perspective by a

good public service announcement campaign that spreads the awareness on sexual assault and

informs the public on impacts it has on women. This can surely make a huge difference to the

lives of current sexual assault victims, and help prevent making women new victims to sexual

assault on college campuses.

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Bibliography

Contributed by Valerie Kuykendall-Rogers, MA, LPC-S, Abuse / Survivors of Abuse

Topic Expert Contributor. "Wounded Attachment: Relationships of Survivors of Childhood

Sexual Assault." GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog. N.p., 24 Apr. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

"Effects of Sexual Assault and Rape." Joyful Heart Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

<http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/learn/sexual-assault-rape/effects-sexual-assault-and-rape

>.

Holmes, M. M., H. S. Resnick, D. G. Kilpatrick, and C. L. Best. "Rape-related Pregnancy:

Estimates and Descriptive Characteristics." American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 1996. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Sarkar, N. N., and Rina Sarkar. "Sexual Assault on Women: It's Impact on Her Life and Living

in Society." Sexual and Relationship Therapy 20.4 (2005): n. pag. EBSCOhost. Web. 3

Apr. 2017.

Sinozich, BJS Intern, Sofi, and Lynn Langton, Ph.D., BJS Statistician. "Rape and Sexual

Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 19952013." (n.d.): n. pag. U.S.

Department of Justice. Dec. 2014. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.