The way a person describes an experience can give insight to the meaning of the event in their life. This study included analysis of life narratives by 62 female sexual violence survivors from three ethnic/cultural groups of the Southwest: Mexican American, Native American (Southern Cheyenne), and Anglo. All the women were low income, and the mean age of each group was about 35 years. Most of the women knew the perpetrator. Women in all groups described their feelings after rape as anger, defilement, and degradation. Few women reported the rape to police or talked to a mental health worker. When describing their long-term strategy for dealing with the rape, Anglo women were more likely to discuss taking control or leaving the memory of the event behind them. Native American women talked more about forgetting the incident or blocking it out. Mexican American women were less likely to describe active efforts to return to a “normal” life and talked more about the continuing effects of the rape on their lives. All of the women described difficulty in interpersonal relationships and in trusting men. The researchers recommended designing post-rape interventions that are sensitive to differences in sociocultural backgrounds, and educating community members to support survivors.
These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 6 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.
Survivors
Bletzer, K. V., & Koss, M. P. (2006). After-rape among three populations in the Southwest. Violence Against Women, 12, 5-29.
Brecklin, L. R., & Ullman, S. E. (2005). Self-defense or assertiveness training and women’s responses to sexual attacks. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 738-762.
The sample included 3,187 undergraduate females from 32 colleges who completed a self-report questionnaire (National Survey of Intergender Relationships). Students were asked about experiences pertaining to unwanted sexual contact, sexual coercion, attempted and/or completed rape, assault characteristics, their perception concerning their victimization experiences, and postassault experiences. Analyses compared women with preassault training to women without any reported self-defense or assertiveness training prior to their assault experiences. Findings revealed that students who had participated in training were more likely to be less scared and more angry during their assault than women who had not had any training. The former were also more likely to report success at stopping the offender. Interestingly, though, the students with preassault trainings were also more likely to undervalue the extent of their resistance. The authors postulate ways in which such findings may improve prevention programs designed to enhance women’s resistance strategies while also recognizing that the origin of sexual violence still rests with males.
Chang, B. H., Skinner, K. M., & Boehmer, U. (2001). Religion and mental health among women veterans with sexual assault experience. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 31, 77-95.
Connop, V., & Petrak, J. (2004). The impact of sexual assault on heterosexual couples. Sexual & Relationship Therapy, 19, 29-38.
The purpose of this study was to examine how male partners react to their partner’s sexual assault and what happens to the couples’ interactions. Participants were recruited through a sexual assault clinic and through press advertisements. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 males whose previous or current partners had been sexually assaulted and with 3 females who had been sexually assaulted and had disclosed their assault to their partners. Interviews revealed that 8 of the 9 participants had a partner who had experienced acquaintance rape – or, in the case of the female participants, had been the victim of acquaintance rape. In analyzing the interviews, four themes were identified: (a) the male partner’s role in providing support, (b) communication, (c) anger and blame, and (d) the impact of the assault on the sexual relationship. Many of the male participants indicated that they felt they should put their partner’s needs first and felt exhausted by their role in supporting their partner. Men also revealed a common assumption relating to socio-cultural scripts concerning heterosexual relationships; namely, the idea that they ought to protect their women. Relationship disturbances and communication problems were also reported to have increased in the aftermath of the assault. While at times the men enunciated rape myths, they could not be categorized either as viewing the rape as a sexual act or as a violent act (as the prior research study had indicated). A final issue noted by participants was how the sexual assault increased their difficulty in performing and enjoying sexual activity. Suggested implications of the findings for service provision include the benefit of couple-based counseling and counseling to support male partners’ support needs and psychosexual issues.
David, W., Simpson, T. & Cotton, A. (2006). Taking charge: A pilot curriculum of self-defense and personal safety training for female veterans with PTSD because of military sexual trauma. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 555-565.
A group of twelve female veterans (average age 48.3 years) in treatment for PTSD at a VA hospital participated in this 12-week, 36-hour pilot treatment program. Each three-hour group session included one hour of psychoeducation and role-play; one hour of physical self-defense training with a male and a female instructor, and one hour of debriefing. Three female psychologists were present throughout each session. Data was collected from ten women: twice before the intervention, immediately after completion, and at three and six months after. Significant changes lasting over time included: being able to better identify risky vs. safe situations; less avoidance of social situations to avoid triggering memories; less hyperarousal; less depression; and increased self-efficacy. A strong bond developed among participants which may have helped all twelve complete the program.
This study was limited by a small sample size of self-selected participants who were carefully screened for psychological and physical stability. Further studies should be done to determine if equally positive results are found in other groups.
Jones, J. S., Alexander, C., Wynn, B. N., Rossman, L., & Dunnuck, C. (2009). Violence: Recognition, management and prevention. Why women don't report sexual assault to the police: The influence of psychosocial variables and traumatic injury. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 36, 417-424.
This study identified reasons why women may not report sexual assaults to police and the differences in demographics, assault characteristics, and injury patterns between those who do and do not report assaults. Data was gathered from 337 adult women who presented to a YWCA Nurse Examiner Program or emergency department. Results indicated that one out of four of the women did not report the rape to the police. No differences were reported in frequency or severity of injuries between reporters and non-reporters. Age, martial status, and ethnicity were not associated with reporting. Women who did not report were more likely to be employed, had a history of drug or alcohol use, knew the perpetrator, and had longer intervals of time between assault and forensic evaluation. The authors suggested that a strategy to increase reporting may be to increase the likelihood of arrest and prosecution of perpetrators.
Documentation of the clinical exam may not have been uniform across all nurse examiners.
Schultz, J., Bell, K., Naugle, A., Polusny, M. (2006). Child sexual abuse and adulthood sexual assault among military veteran and civilian women. Military Medicine, 171, 723-728.
Both veteran women (N=142) and non-veteran women (N=81) from community settings completed questionnaires about their experiences of child sexual abuse, adult sexual victimization, and adult sexual assault. More than twice as many veteran women (48.9%) reported adult sexual assault than community women (21.5%). Veteran women and community women reported similar levels of child sexual abuse (48.6% and 43.2% respectively), but veteran women were much more likely to have been sexually abused by a parental figure (91.9% vs. 10%). The authors recommend screening women in the military to assist those who may have been sexually traumatized, and development of a sexual assault prevention program for all women entering the military.
Because women with a history of sexual violence may have been more likely to complete the questionnaire, rates of reported sexual violence may be higher than in a general population.
Walker, J., Archer, J., & Davies, M. (2005). Effects of rape on men: A descriptive analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 69-80.
To describe the experiences of male rape victims who were not in a clinical setting, men who had been anally raped were recruited to participate in a mail-in survey. Forty men provided details of the assault, their immediate reactions, and the long-term effects. Seventy percent of the men were between the ages of 16-25 when the incident occurred. Only 10% of the rapes were committed by strangers. Most men (87%) felt frozen fear, helplessness, or submission during the attack, although some (27%) were able to fight back at least somewhat. The majority of men reported that feeling helpless and out of control was worse than the sexual aspects of the assault. Almost all of the men reported long-term depression as a consequence of the assault, and most experienced long-term confusion about their sexual identity. Recommendations included providing male victims the same support services offered to women, and more community education and outreach to increase awareness of the prevalence and impact of male rape.