Any situation in which you are forced to participate in unwanted, unsafe, or degrading sexual activity is sexual abuse. Forced sex, even by a spouse or intimate partner with whom you also have consensual sex, is an act of aggression and violence. Furthermore, people whose partners abuse them physically andsexually are at a higher risk of being seriously injured or killed.
If you have been sexually assaulted, you are doing the right thing by getting more information. Sexual assault is never the fault of the survivor. No one deserves to be sexually assaulted. This information is intended to help empower you to do the things you may need to do to heal.
When we think of rape we often think about violent attacks involving a weapon. Yet, it is more common that the victim knows the attacker and the assault involves verbal or emotional coercion. The physical and emotional reactions to a date rape can be just as powerful or the same as “stranger” rape. Sometimes rapes involve drug or alcohol consumption on the part of the survivor which may lead to self-blame. Do not blame yourself. No one deserves or “asks” to be raped.
Many survivors experience psychological trauma in response to the attack which may involve both psychological and emotional changes such as stomach or digestive problems, headaches, or sleeplessness that they may not associate with the attack. In some cases, there is no physical cause for these symptoms.
