Sexual assault is a heinous crime that affects both women and men of every age. According to the Rape, Incest and Abuse National Network, 248,000 people over the age of 12 were victims of some form of sexual assault in 2007. Besides the physical harm that rape does, there are also emotional effects of sexual assault. Even though many advances have been made with the anti-rape movement, some of the outcomes of sexual assault are quite staggering.
Cost
When people think of sexual assault, few rarely think about the cost. According to the New Britain Sexual Assault Crisis Services, rape costs $127 billion per year, excluding child sexual abuse. The breakdown of this cost is $87,000 per rape, which includes medical expenses, wage losses, quality of life losses, and pain and suffering.
Emotional Consequences
The emotional harm of rape can be just as damaging as the physical harm. One of the emotional outcomes is post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. PTSD is a psychological disease, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which affects victims and survivors of trauma. According to the National Institutes of Health, symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks (dreams, memories, and physical reactions), emotional numbness, detachment, selective amnesia, avoiding certain situations and places, lack of interest in activities, concentration problems, hypervigilance, irritability, and sleep problems. According to the New Britain Sexual Assault Crisis Services, about 3.8 million adult women have PTSD related to rape and sexual assault. In addition, 211,000 women develop PTSD every year. As a result of PTSD, rape survivors are 13.4 times more likely to have major alcohol-related problems, and 26 times more likely to have serious drug abuse problems. In addition, rape survivors with PTSD are nine times more likely to attempt suicide.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy is another fear of many female sexual assault victims. According to the New Britain Sexual Assault Crisis Services, between 11 percent and 20 percent of women become pregnant as a result of the rape.
Hospitalization
Some rape victims may undergo some hospitalization after the sexual assault, mainly for the physical harm. However, the psychological effects of rape and sexual assault can also result in hospitalization. According to the New Britain Sexual Assault Crisis Services, data from 1987 showed that 50 to 60 percent of psychiatric inpatients and 40 to 60 percent of psychiatric outpatients have childhood histories of physical or sexual abuse.
Rapists
Some statistics that are just as disturbing is what happens to rapists who are caught, prosecuted and convicted. According to the US Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average sentence for a rapist ranges around two years. However, according to the New Britain Sexual Assault Crisis Services, almost 28 percent of released convicted rapists who are released face charges for a new violent crime within three years.
Source: New Britain Sexual Assault Crisis Services' Counselor Advocate Training Manual
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