Impact of Abuse: Intricacies of Victimhood and Justice

The physical and emotional effects of physical and or sexual abuse are life altering. A person can go through many changes that are unavoidable. The mental damage is grand. The victims feel insecure, that their story will not be validated, that they will take blame for the action of a predator. The media getting involved in sexual crimes does nothing but humiliate the victim more so. The do not want to face their assailant and have to relive these experiences. They question themselves and others that were once trusted. Most assailants are people that were close. Prosecution for sex offenders is tiny in numbers due to low conviction rate, and not many victims report the crime due to fear of humiliation. We have all heard the stories of women

With the substantial support offered to the victim, there has been an increase in the reported amount of sexual assaults. The advocate is assigned to share opinions, options, to prosecute, to mitigate the damage, and to expedite the communities' response and results in pursuing the assailant. There are also people who feel as though they are required to take sides if they are mutual acquaintances in common. Women have been shamed and slandered very publically to attempt to discredit the victim's credibility. A SART(sexual assault response team) in a community has a higher chance of prosecution of the perpetrator about fast response and large amounts of counseling and support offered to the victim's needs. Another problem that troubles the victims of assaults is to have to face the assailant during testimony. The fear of having to be in the presence of the person who violated their very personal being is a real one. The Sexual Assault Response team is an excellent tool to a community in allowing victims and potential victims to assert themselves and not only prosecute rapists or assailants but will prevent future incidents from happening with self-defense

They suffer from mental trauma and a lack of ability to accept or admit that the abuse occurred. Children feel vulnerable in their day to day life due to learning about life, so if that child comes into contact with violence, it is harder for them to overcome the fear and their new tainted viewpoint on life. The children that have suffered assault in their years can affect the body's natural defenses and have to live on edge due to the fight and flights response consistently in action. The brain has been permanently affected by the mental damage that occurs when a child who has suffered abuse. Often the assailants are people who are known to the child. These kids have to live with guilt and blaming themselves for the occurrences. The children will suffer from mental stress, anxiety, and depression. There is also a higher likelihood to commit suicide or have criminal issues in their later years. Self-esteem suffers. Because of this, these people have to have their lives and mentality repaired to prevent further damages to that person. There is also a possibility of repeating these patterns if the child has not taught that these behaviors are not normal and that sexual assault is not the way family members should treat each other. If a child is suffering abuse and an adult responsible for that child is not proactive in defending and protecting that child, they are directly or