What consequences does sexual violence have?

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Being a victim of sexual violence can be a difficult experience to overcome, and it damages the victim's physical and emotional well-being and the quality of the relationships with those around them.

Sexual violence can bring negative consequences to physical health, such as:

  • Injuries related to the violence or physical force used;

  • Injuries directly related to the sexual violence, such as those to the sexual organs, pain, bleeding, discharge;

  • Sexual and reproductive health problems, such as sexually transmitted infections (e.g. HIV; genital herpes; chlamydia);

  • Unwanted pregnancies;

  • Decreased appetite;

  • Insomnia and nightmares (associated with permanent thoughts about what happened) or oversleeping.

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Sexual violence does not always cause physical injuries!

There are cases in which the sexually violent act leaves no physical injuries or marks (for example, acts involving touching the sexual organs or sharing photos on the internet do not leave physical traces).

However, this does not mean that the violence did not happen!

Sexual violence also brings negative consequences for emotional and psychological health, such as:

  • Shock, especially when the sexual violence is committed by someone you know or trusted;

  • Anger of the victim towards the offender and of the victim (wrongly) towards themselves for not having been able to prevent it;

  • Guilt, despite the victim has no responsibility for what happened;

  • Anxiety or constant fear, linked to frequent thoughts and memories in relation to what happened;

  • Feel worthless (no longer liking themselves);

  • Deep sadness, making the victim feel that life has no meaning or purpose;

  • Fear that the violent situation will happen again;

  • Fear of being alone;

  • Fear of the offender or that something bad will happen to them (especially if the victim knows the offender);

  • Shame to tell what happened;

  • Fear that no one will believe them if they tell anyone what happened;

  • Fear of never being able to recover from the violent act (being "marked" forever).

Sexual violence can also cause changes in the victim's behaviour, such as:

  • Becoming more aggressive with the people around, even with people they really like;

  • Getting hurt on purpose;

  • Beginning to behave like a younger child (e.g., sleeping with the lights on, bed-wetting again);

  • Staying away from people or places they like (because they might remind them of what happened);

  • Disengaging from school and lowering their grades;

  • Lower interest in other activities that he liked before (e.g., doing sports, playing musical instruments).

Taking into account the type of acts committed, it is to be expected that other changes appear, namely in sexual behaviour, such as:

  • Difficulty of the victim to establish intimate and healthy relationships with others;

  • Difficulty in respecting another person's "no" and the limits they impose on them (e.g.: not understanding that the other person does not want to have sexual contacts);

  • Having risky sexual behaviours (e.g. having different sexual partners, not using contraceptive methods).

Disclaimer

Some of the information on this website has been simplified so that it can be understood by everyone. This simplification does not, however, put in question the accuracy and correctness of the contents. The content of this website was created by APAV as part of the CARE plus project, funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The content reflects the point of view of APAV, which cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.