Sexual Assault and Stigma

The month of April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month in the United States. This month is dedicated to raising awareness to the reality that is sexual assault and brings increased attention to these crimes and the ways communities can work together to prevent them (RAINN).

What is sexual assault?

Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient (Justice.gov).

Statistics (RAINN)

- Every 98 seconds another American is sexually assaulted
- Every 8 minutes that victim is a child
- On average, there are 321,500 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States
- 1 out of every 10 victims of sexual assault are male
- 94% of women who are raped experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the two weeks following the rape
- 30% of women report PTSD symptoms 9 months after the rape
- Approximately 70% of rape or sexual assault victims experience moderate to severe distress, a larger percentage than for any other violent crime

The Stigma

The stigma of sexual assault can make survivors feel as if the assault is happening all over again (Healthy Place). The stigma of sexual assault is so ingrained within American culture that people often dont even realize that what they say can actually humiliate sexual assault victims.

Survivors will often be faced with reactions of discomfort, fear, or avoidance of the subject by changing the topic of the conversation when they tell people that they had been sexually assaulted. Reactions like this can lead to strong feelings of shame and embarrassment. Some questions have the ability to imply that the victim shares some blame for the assault and suggest that they are at fault (Healthy Place). This stigma can be a barrier that so many are unwilling to cross to report the assault.

Unlike some other traumatic events, public stigma surrounding sexual abuse or assault are often daunting to talk about because of the personally invasive nature of 
the crime. (University of Alabama). Then survivors are faced with the thoughts of ‘now Im destroyed, Im damaged, nobody will love me, I hate myself, and all these negative things because if thats the worst thing that can happen, whats the point? The University of Alabama has made efforts to raise awareness of this reality and focus on topics such as attitude change and consent definitions. Those committing these offenses arent going to be deterred if there are no consequences for their actions.

The key to helping victims of sexual assault is to be compassionate and to realize there is no specific timeline to healing. Many victims struggle with the senselessness of rape, that nothing they did caused the assault other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Recovering from rape is different for every person, and has a lot to do with recovering the power taken during the assault (University of Alabama). Focusing on being supportive, confidential, and available is necessary when talking with a survivor, especially when survivors feel like they have nowhere else to go without the possibility of judgment.

Discussion Questions

1) How would you define stigma?

2) How can you help bring awareness to the reality sexual assault survivors face in terms of stigmatization?

3) What are some ways that can reduce stigmatization of sexual assault?

4) What are some ways you can be compassionate towards a sexual assault survivor?

Resources:

https://www.rainn.org/news/rainn-prepares-sexual-assault-awareness-and-prevention-month-2017

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault

https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/rape/getting-raped-the-stigma-of-being-a-rape-victim/

https://www.cw.ua.edu/article/2016/02/breaking-the-stigma-of-sexual-assualt

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