8 Physical and mental trauma due to sexual violence & bull; hello healthy

According to Komnas Perempuan, an average of 35 women are victims of sexual violence in Indonesia every day. Nearly 70 percent of cases of violence against women, both fatal and non-fatal, were committed by family members or partners (boyfriends or husbands).

Although the consequences of each crime and victim's experience differ, there is growing evidence of a link between victims of sexual violence and mental and physical health. Physical injury and death are the most obvious consequences of cases of violence. In the first 4 months of 2016, 44 Indonesian women, adolescents and adults, died at the hands of a sexual partner or ex-partner after being sexually assaulted, according to the BBC - but there are other consequences that are more prevalent and are increasingly being recognized.

Various kinds of reactions can affect the victim. The effects and effects of sexual violence (including rape) can include physical, emotional, and psychological trauma.

What caused the trauma?

When physical danger threatens the authority of our bodies, the ability to escape is an uncontrollable instinct for survival. These conditions include the body expending a great deal of energy to produce a fleeing or counter-reaction reaction. These short circuits bounce around in a person's body and mind, which can cause shock, dissociation, and many other kinds of subconscious responses while the violent action takes place.

This shorting remains with the individual long after the violence has ended, and can perish on the mind, body, and soul of a person in various ways.

Trauma experienced by victims of sexual violence

Some of the effects below are not always easy to deal with, but with the right help and support, they can be well managed. Studying more deeply can help you find the best form of treatment to start the healing process, for both you and your loved one.

1. Depression

Self-blaming is one of the most common short-term and long-term effects, serving as an instinctive skill for dealing with problems with avoidance that hinders the healing process.

There are two types of self-blame, based on actions and character. Self-blame based on the act of feeling they should be able to do something different, which could have avoided them from that fateful incident, and therefore feeling guilty. Character-based self-blame occurs when they feel that something is wrong with them, which causes them to feel worthy of being a victim.

Self-blame is closely related to depression. Depression is a mood disorder that occurs when feelings associated with sadness and hopelessness persist for long periods of time disrupting healthy thinking patterns.

It is normal for victims of crime to feel sad, angry, unhappy, and hopeless. Depression and self-blame are serious mental health issues and do not signal weakness, nor are they something that one hopes will self-heal as easily as the turning of a hand. Five ways depression and self-blame can damage a person: lack of motivation to seek help, lack of empathy, isolation from others, anger, and aggression — including self-harm and / or suicide attempts.

2. Rape Trauma Syndrome

Rape Trauma Syndrome (RTS) is a derivative form of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), a condition that affects female victims - young and adult - of sexual violence. Sexual violence, including rape, is seen by women as a life threatening situation, has a general fear of mutilation and death while assault occurs.

Immediately after rape, survivors often go into shock. They tend to feel cold, pass out, experience trembling disorientation (mental confusion), nausea and vomiting. Post-incident, it is common for victims to experience insomnia, flashbacks, nausea and vomiting, shock and shock responses, tension headaches, agitation and aggression, isolation, and nightmares, as well as dissociative symptoms or numbness and increased fear and anxiety.

Although some of these symptoms may represent descriptions of symptoms that arise in war veterans, victims of rape and sexual violence experience unique problems after the assault, such as abdominal or lower back pain, throat irritation from forced oral sex, gynecological problems (heavy and irregular menstruation, vaginal discharge or other discharge from the vagina, bladder infections, sexually transmitted diseases, to unwanted pregnancy followed by preeclampsia), behaving like never happened violence (called rejection), fear of sex, even loss of sexual desire and interest.

It is important to note that RTS is a psychologically and physically healthy person's natural response to the trauma of rape, so the above signs and symptoms are not a representation of a psychiatric disorder or illness.

3. Dissociation

In the simplest terms, dissociation is detachment from reality. Dissociation is one of the many defense mechanisms the brain uses to deal with the trauma of sexual violence. Many scholars believe that dissociation is on a spectrum. At one end of the spectrum, dissociation is associated with daydreaming experiences. On the opposite end, complex and chronic dissociation can make it difficult for sufferers to function in the real world.

Dissociation is often described as a "spirit out of the body" experience, in which a person feels detached from his body, feels that his surroundings seem unreal, is not involved with the environment he is in as if he is watching the incident on television.

Some mental health professionals believe that the cause of dissociative disorders is chronic trauma that occurs during childhood. Individuals who experience a traumatic event will often experience some degree of dissociation - partial amnesia, changing places and having a new identity, to worst, multiple personalities - during the experience of the event or days, weeks after.

It may be scary to watch someone experience separation from the real world (to be distinguished from isolation), but this is a natural reaction to trauma.

4. Eating disorders

Sexual violence can affect survivors in a number of ways, including self-perception of the body and autonomy for self-control in eating habits. Some people may use food as an outlet for trauma, to feel back in control of their body, or to compensate for overwhelming feelings and emotions. This act only provides temporary asylum, but has the ability to damage the body in the long term.

There are three types of eating disorders, namely: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating. However, it is still possible for survivors to engage in eating disorders outside of these three conditions which are considered to be equally dangerous.

Reporting from the Medical Daily, bulimia and anorexia are common in adult women who have survived sexual violence as children. In a study from the University of Melbourne, researchers looked at the link between sexual abuse during childhood (before age 16) and the onset of these two eating disorders in women. Counting 1,936 participants - who were involved in an ongoing study for 11 years - with an average age of 15-24 years, those who experienced two or more sexual attacks had an almost fivefold increase in showing bulimia syndrome than those who had only one sexual assault, with 2.5-fold odds.

5. Hypoactive sexual desire disorder

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (IDD / HSDD) is a medical condition that indicates low sexual desire. This condition is also commonly called sexual apathy or sexual aversion.

HSDD can be a primary or secondary condition, which can make a big difference in treatment planning. The primary condition is if an individual has never experienced or had sexual desire, and rarely (if ever) engages in sexual intercourse - does not initiate and does not respond to sexual stimulation from his partner.

HSDD becomes a secondary condition when the person has normal and healthy sexual arousal at first, but then becomes completely disinterested and indifferent due to other causes, for example manifested in the form of real trauma as a result of sexual harassment. Sexual intercourse, for survivors of sexual crime cases, can be a trigger that alerts them to the event and generates flashbacks and nightmares - so they choose not to get involved, and ultimately lose all sexual desire.

6. Dyspareunia

Dyspareunia is pain that is felt during or after sexual intercourse. This condition can affect men, but is more common in women. Women who have dyspareunia may experience superficial pain in the vagina, clitoris, or labia (vaginal lips), or pain that is more disabling with deeper penetration or thrust of the penis.

Dyspareunia is caused by a variety of conditions, one of which includes trauma from a history of sexual violence. A history of sexual violence in women with dyspareunia was associated with increased psychological stress and sexual dysfunction, but no association was found between dyspareunia and a history of physical abuse.

Some women can experience extreme tightening of the vaginal muscles during penetration, a condition called vaginismus.

7. Vaginismus

When a woman has vaginismus, her vaginal muscles squeeze or spasm on their own when something enters her, such as a tampon or penis - even during a routine pelvic exam by a gynecologist. This can be a little uncomfortable or very painful.

Painful sex is often the first sign a woman has vaginismus. The pain you experience only occurs during penetration. It usually disappears after a withdrawal, but not always. Women who have this condition describe the pain as a tearing sensation or like a man hitting a wall.

Doctors don't know exactly what causes vaginismus. However, suspicion is usually related to extreme anxiety or fear of having sex - including from a traumatic history of sexual violence. However, it is unclear which came first, vaginismus or anxiety.

8. Type 2 diabetes

Adults who experienced any form of sexual abuse as children are at a higher risk of developing serious medical conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.

In a study published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers investigated the relationship between sexual abuse experienced by adolescents and type 2 diabetes. The findings reported that 34 percent of the 67,853 female participants who reported having type 2 diabetes had experienced sexual violence.