Effects of Sexual Assault/Rape

Any sexual violation can be emotionally traumatic, whether by a stranger, casual acquaintance, date, or intimate partner. The trauma can be devastating and last for a long time. Victims of rape often suffer serious, long-term psychological effects. Rape victims may blame themselves, view themselves negatively, and suffer serious psychological consequences. They may have difficulty trusting people in their relationships. It may take victims a long time to recover from the attack, particularly if it involved physical violence. Rape victims may be hesitant to seek crisis services, tell someone, report to police and seek counseling. Studies suggest that only 12% of rapes of college students are reported to police.

Victims may feel vulnerable and unsafe, since they have found that even people they trusted may commit an act of abuse against them. It may be difficult to open up to family and friends as a source of support. The victim may fear they will be blamed for the rape. A survey of female college seniors showed that 79.3% of those sampled who reported having been raped or sexually assaulted while intoxicated put all or part of the blame on themselves. 50% of the women raped by force or threat of force also took on some degree of self-blame.

Victims of sexual trauma are often left feeling anxious, overwhelmed and confused. Sleeplessness, flashbacks, inability to focus or concentrate, generalized fears, anxiety or panic attacks are all common manifestations of trauma. Typically, students who have been traumatized in this way will have a difficult time with continuing their academic work during the initial stage of recovery. Although they may continue to attend their classes and have an outward appearance that everything is okay, this usually begins to diminish very rapidly. Many of the symptoms the student must deal with are harmful to one's ability to continue to perform well academically. Under such conditions it is nearly impossible to maintain the energy and work necessary for successful academic achievement.

Information from this section was taken from the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault; and, Schwartz, M.D., and M.S. Leggett. Bad Dates or Emotional Trauma? The Aftermath of Campus Sexual Assault. 5 Violence Against Women (1999): 251-271.