Almost half of all women and almost a quarter of all men in the United States have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Treating individuals who have survived sexual assault can pose challenges for psychiatric and medical treatment. The rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are higher with sexual assault, and people with sexual trauma often feel stigmatized and have difficulty presenting for care. This chapter reviews epidemiology and neurobiology of sexual assault as well as the physical and psychological sequelae of sexual assault. Here, the authors review and propose practical treatment recommendations to assist in the treatment of individuals with a history of sexual assault.
This review 5 figures, 5 tables, and 53 references.
Key Words: posttraumatic stress disorder, rape recovery, sexual assault, treatment recommendations, women’s mental health, rape survivor treatment, rape
My life was over, my life had just begun: rape recovery through survivor testimony, and trauma prevention with early humanist education