What are The Consequences Of Rape And Sexual Abuse: Physical force is not necessarily used in rape, and physical injuries are not always a consequence. Deaths associated with rape are known to occur, though the prevalence of fatalities varies considerably across the world. Among the more common consequences of sexual violence are those related to reproductive, mental health and social well being.

Pregnancy and gynaecological complications

Pregnancy may result from rape, though the rate varies between settings and depends particularly on the extent to which non-barrier contraceptives are being used. A study of adolescents in Ethiopia found that among those who reported being raped, 17% became pregnant after the rape, a figure which is similar to the 15–18% reported by rape crisis centres in Mexico.

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A longitudinal study in the United States of over 4000 women followed for 3 years found that the national rape related pregnancy rate was 5.0% per rape among victims aged 12–45 years, producing over 32 000 pregnancies nationally among women from rape each year.

In many countries, women who have been raped are forced to bear the child or else put their lives at risk with back-street abortions. Experience of coerced sex at an early age reduces a woman’s ability to see her sexuality as something over which she has control.

As a result, it is less likely that an adolescent girl who has been forced into sex will use condoms or other forms of contraception, increasing the likelihood of her becoming pregnant.

A study of factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Cape Town, South Africa, found that forced sexual initiation was the third most strongly related factor, after frequency of intercourse and use of modern contraceptives. Forced sex can also result in unintended pregnancy among adult women.

In India, a study of married men revealed that men who admitted forcing sex on their wives were 2.6 times more likely to have caused an unintended pregnancy than those who did not admit to such behaviour. Gynaecological complications have been consistently found to be related to forced sex.

These include vaginal bleeding or infection, fibroids, decreased sexual desire, genital irritation, pain during intercourse, chronic pelvic pain and urinary tract infections. Women who experience both physical and sexual abuse from intimate partners are at higher risk of health problems generally than those experiencing physical violence alone.

Sexually transmitted diseases

HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases are recognized consequences of rape. Research on women in shelters has shown that women who experience both sexual and physical abuse from intimate partners are significantly more likely to have had sexually transmitted diseases.

For women who have been trafficked into sex work, the risks of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are likely to be particularly high.

Mental health

Sexual violence has been associated with a number of mental health and behavioural problems in adolescence and adulthood.

In one population-based study, the prevalence of symptoms or signs suggestive of a psychiatric disorder was 33% in women with a history of sexual abuse as adults, 15% in women with a history of physical violence by an intimate partner and 6% in non-abused women. Sexual violence by an intimate partner aggravates the effects of physical violence on mental health.

Abused women reporting experiences of forced sex are at significantly greater risk of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder than non-abused women. Post-traumatic stress disorder after rape is more likely if there is injury during the rape, or a history of depression or alcohol abuse.

A study of adolescents in France also found a relationship between having been raped and current sleep difficulties, depressive symptoms, somatic complaints, tobacco consumption and behavioural problems (such as aggressive behaviour, theft and truancy).

In the absence of trauma counselling, negative psychological effects have been known to persist for at least a year following a rape, while physical health problems and symptoms tend to decrease over such a period. Even with counselling, up to 50% of women retain symptoms of stress.

Suicidal behaviour

Women who experience sexual assault in childhood or adulthood are more likely to attempt or commit suicide than other women. The association remains, even after controlling for sex, age, education, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and the presence of psychiatric disorders.

The experience of being raped or sexually assaulted can lead to suicidal behaviour as early as adolescence. In Ethiopia, 6% of raped schoolgirls reported having attempted suicide. A study of adolescents in Brazil found prior sexual abuse to be a leading factor predicting several health risk behaviours, including suicidal thoughts and attempts.

Experiences of severe sexual harassment can also result in emotional disturbances and suicidal behaviour. A study of female adolescents in Canada found that 15% of those experiencing frequent, unwanted sexual contact had exhibited suicidal behaviour in the previous 6 months, compared with 2% of those who had not had such harassment.

Social ostracization

In many cultural settings it is held that men are unable to control their sexual urges and that women are responsible for provoking sexual desire in men. How families and communities react to acts of rape in such settings is governed by prevailing ideas about sexuality and the status of women.

In some societies, the cultural ‘‘solution’’ to rape is that the woman should marry the rapist, thereby preserving the integrity of the woman and her family by legitimizing the union. Such a ‘‘solution’’ is reflected in the laws of some countries, which allow a man who commits rape to be excused his crime if he marries the victim.

Apart from marriage, families may put pressure on the woman not to report or pursue a case or else to concentrate on obtaining financial ‘‘damages’’ from the rapist’s family. Men may reject their wives if they have been raped and in some countries, as mentioned previously, restoring lost honour calls for the woman to be cast out – or in extreme cases, murdered.