WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED. RECOVERING FROM SEXUAL ASSAULT
What to do if you are sexually assaulted
• Tell someone you trust, immediately. Before you change your clothes or wash, call your local rape-crisis hot line or women’s center—look under “rape” in the telephone book. They will send someone to help you.
• Get medical help. Have someone you trust with you. You may need emergency contraception as well as treatment for any injuries or infections you may have received. You may also be asked to agree to be physically examined for rape evidence.
• Decide whether you want to report the rape to the police or other authorities. If you do, you may have to recount what happened in detail.
• Take time to recover. You may want to take a few days off from work or school and find a safe place to stay for a few days.
• Get counseling. Recovery takes time and lots of support. You may choose to join a rape recovery group as well.
• Don’t blame yourself for what happened. No matter how you behaved, no one deserves to be raped.
Recovering from Sexual Assault
The effects of sexual assault include physical and psychological problems. Psychological effects include loss of self-esteem, impaired body image, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and sexual inhibition and conflict. The victim may lose interest in sexual contact, be unable to become sexually aroused, or have flashbacks of the assault while trying to have sex with someone who is loved and trusted. Victims may feel dirty, ugly, and unloved. These painful responses are common. They may stress the victims’ relationships with their partners.
Rape trauma syndrome is the physical and emotional pain that begins during sexual assault and continues afterward. The acute phase begins with the assault and can last for several weeks. A woman may appear calm and controlled, or she may be very expressive. Her feelings may include anger, sadness, shame, shock, fear, anxiety, guilt, and a loss of control.
The acute phase is followed by the long-term reorganization phase, which may last a year or more. During this time, a woman tries to reorganize and regain control of her life. She may want to move, change her phone number, or look for a new job.
The silent assault victim does not tell anyone about her experience and will go through the process of rape trauma syndrome without the support of professionals or friends. Survivors who express their feelings to supportive professionals, families, and friends may be able to recover more completely and quickly.
Some women go through rape trauma syndrome a long while after the assault. The trauma may cause the survivor to deny the incident, even to herself. She may not be able to deal with her memories and feelings, and they become hidden within her, unremembered. She may feel hurt, sad, angry, and sexually inhibited and not know why.
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