The Psychological Effects of Sexual Assault

Phillip Neely, Jr., Angelia Griffin

(School of Education & Social Services, Saint Leo University, USA)

Abstract: There are three major problems related to the overall effects of sexual assaults. They are psychological, physical and emotional. Viewing these major problems could have a young woman being raped, by a man, and the court claiming it is all her fault because she dressed provocatively. This thought process rationalizes criminal, antisocial behavior, and lays the blame of the rape on the victim (Martin, 2007). Technically, a rapist could commit a sexual assault, say the victim asked for it, and get minimum punishment, if any. The National Institute of Justice documented that 26 percent of sexual assaults, 34 percent of attempted rapes, and 36 percent of rapes were reported to authorities (Kendall, 2010). These statistics were obtained from the Bureau of Justice which also provided justifications for those low numbers. These excuses include a lack of faith in the criminal justice system, fear of being blamed for the assault, dreading retaliation from the offender, and the shame of being publicly humiliated.

Key words: intimate violence, sex addict, separation anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)