Summary Sheet 7
This is a short summary
of ACSSA Issues Paper No.
7 (June 2007)
"Ripple
effects" of sexual assault
by Zoë Morrison, Antonia Quadara and Cameron
Boyd
"Ripple effects" of sexual assault
As well as the profound effects of sexual assault on victim/survivors, a victim/survivor's family members and friends, workers in the sexual assault field, and society as a whole are affected by sexual assault in detrimental and still under-recognised ways.
Trauma
Trauma research has recognised that witnessing violence or abuse against a "significant other", or being exposed to traumatic material in other ways, is traumatic within itself, creating "secondary victims" of sexual assault and other traumas.
The trauma response model and clinical diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder helped to acknowledge the significance of the harm caused to people who have been sexually assaulted, and the extent of the violation they have experienced. However the concept of trauma has some limitations:
- Various measures of trauma are not always adequately sensitive to diversity
- While rape will always be a traumatic experience and a violation of human rights, the effects of this trauma for an individual may be different in different contexts.
- Some trauma measures reflect dominant views about the world that many people do not share
- Certain symptoms of trauma, rather than being viewed as problems to be treated, need to be viewed in a more positive light - as "coping mechanisms" an individual has adopted for protection and other purposes
- Trauma conditions such as PTSD do not encompass all the individual effects of sexual assault
- Our focus on the effects of rape stays at the level of the individual.
Secondary victims
Non-perpetrator family members, partners, friends and children of victim/survivors are affected by a sexual assault and its aftermath; their response to the victim/survivor's experiences can help or hinder the primary victim's recovery.
Secondary victims often experience the effects of trauma as well, sometimes with similar symptoms to those of primary victims. Knowledge of a traumatising event experienced by a significant other is itself traumatic- this is secondary trauma.
Intimate partners
Non-offending intimate partners of victim/survivors may experience secondary trauma as a result of the sexual assault of their partner. Male partners and female partners might experience secondary traumatisation differently.
Parents and other family members of victim/survivors
Following the sexual assault of a family member or loved one, parents, siblings and children often experience considerable emotional distress and physical and psychological symptoms that can disrupt their lifestyles and family structures. Responses of family members to the assault can include shock, helplessness, rage and so on, which can parallel the responses of the victim.
Friends of victim/survivors also experience high levels of distress, anger and other emotional responses.
The process of supporting a victim/survivor of sexual assault can also be a rewarding experience for the supporter or secondary victim.
Sexual assault counsellor/advocates and other professionals working in the field
Vicarious traumatisation is the process whereby, like non-perpetrator family members and friends, counsellor/advocates may experience many of the effects of sexual assault that parallel those experienced by victim/survivors.
Vicarious traumatisation is a normal response to the repeated exposure to traumatic material, and it is the nature of the trauma that causes it, not some weakness or failure in the provider or the organization. When counsellors identify that they have been affected by their work, many have the ability to access positive coping strategies.
However, recent research has found that the use of particular coping strategies, such as problem-focused coping, was not associated with the extent to which therapists experienced trauma, or symptoms or feelings of burnout. Attention needs to shift from vicarious or secondary traumatisation intervention, to advocacy for improved and safer working conditions, particularly in regard to caseload and trauma exposure.
Working small or isolated communities, particularly in rural areas, can magnify and/or raise particular issues relevant to vicarious traumatisation.
Women's use of local and public space
Both individual sexual assaults in a local geographic community that receive specific media coverage, and the occurrence or phenomenon of sexual assault in general, has implications on the behaviour and autonomy of women within the public spaces they occupy.
Research shows that women are most worried about sexual assault by a stranger, feel most unsafe outside at night time, regard certain areas such as underpasses and parks as frightening, and perceive neighbourhoods other than their own to be dangerous. Yet this generalised fear felt by women does not reflect actual forms of victimisation: perpetrators are usually known to victims (rather than strangers), violence against women occurs more often in private residences (rather than on dark alien streets), and does not usually involve the use of a weapon.
This combination of fear and misattributed fear can have several consequences:
- Impact on women's participation and presence in the public sphere;
- Impact on women's presence in "the home";
- Debates about women's safety are informed by problematic assumptions; and
- Sexual assault that does not fit the stereotype is not adequately recognised.
Freedom from violence and discrimination, economic participation and security, and social inclusion, are regarded by many health promotion experts as key determinants of mental health and overall community wellbeing.
Financial costs of sexual assault
Sexual assault will inevitably have an effect on economic issues at a national level. For example, a recent study in Australia found the economic costs of intimate partner violence (of which sexual assault is a part) for 2002-2003 to be $8.1 billion. Lost productivity, lost quality of life and mental health care are considered by researchers to be the most costly impacts of sexual assault in financial terms.
The heaviest economic burden of sexual assault falls on victim/survivors themselves.
Health costs
The cumulative effects of intimate partner violence make it the leading risk factor contributing to death for women in Victoria between the ages of 15 and 44.
The relationship between sexual assault and mental health has been well established by a vast body of research. Sexual assault should no longer be thought of as private burden and experience, but rather as a significant social cost in urgent need of reduction.
Conclusion
The effects of sexual assault spread out into the community in a ripple effect among those close to the victim/survivor, those who work with her or him, and the communities and wider societies within which the violence of sexual assault exists. Family, friends, and professionals in the field have legitimate needs for support in their own right, as well as in their capacity as support people for primary victim/survivors.