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["Ben Atherton-Zeman - Feminist, Actor and Husband" <>]

NIJ Journal No. 256 <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/256/index.html>
 January 2007

Sexual Assault in Abusive Relationships

by Lauren R. Taylor with Nicole Gaskin-Laniyan

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/256/sexual-assault.html ;

About the Authors
Lauren R. Taylor is a freelance writer. Nicole Gaskin-Laniyan, Ph.D., is a
Social Science Analyst in the Violence and Victimization Research Division
of the National Institute of Justice.

A recent study funded by NIJ on women who had been physically assaulted by
an intimate partner found that two-thirds of the women had also been
sexually assaulted by that partner.[1]
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/256/sexual-assault.html#note1> In
addition to a victim's physical and psychological injuries, her older
children were found to be at increased risk for depression.

Researchers Judith McFarlane and Anne Malecha from Texas Woman's University
collected data from 148 women who sought assistance from the judicial system
after being physically assaulted by an intimate partner.[2]
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/256/sexual-assault.html#note2> The
women, who were interviewed first in 2001, were contacted again in 2003 with
questions about forced sex.[3]
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/256/sexual-assault.html#note3>
Researchers looked at the incidence and consequences of sexual assault in
intimate relationships and compared the findings with data collected from
women who were physically but not sexually assaulted by their partners. The
researchers identified risk factors for women in abusive relationships that
could be used to develop referral and safety programs for victims and their
children.

Impact of Reporting on Revictimization 

Most research supports the claim that sexual assault is common in physically
abusive relationships. McFarlane and Malecha found that 68 percent of the
abused women reported having been sexually assaulted by their intimate
partners. Sexual assault occurred repeatedly within these intimate
relationships-almost 80 percent of sexually assaulted women reported more
than one incident of forced sex.

Most of the women in the study did not report the assault or seek assistance
after the first rape-just 6 percent contacted the police after the first
rape, and 8 percent applied for a protective order. But women assistance
from the courts were less likely to be revictimized. Specifically, women who
contacted the police following the first rape were 59 percent less likely to
be raped by an intimate partner again, whether or not the abuser was
arrested. Women who applied for a protective order after the first rape were
70 percent less likely to be raped again, whether or not the order was
obtained. Most women waited several years after the first sexual assault
before applying for a protective order, with Caucasians waiting the longest
(on average 8 years), followed by Latina women (5 years), and African
American women (3 years). 

Physical and Emotional Tolls of Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse

Sexual assault by intimate partners has a profound effect on victims and
their children.

Researchers McFarlane and Malecha also found that the sexually assaulted
women in the study had worse mental and physical health than women who had
been physically but not sexually abused. The women had more post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, more pregnancies resulting from rape, and
more sexually transmitted diseases.[4]
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/256/sexual-assault.html#note4>
Foreign-born women in the study were found to have a high risk of developing
PTSD and also to have fewer social supports. In addition, 27 percent of the
women surveyed began or increased their use of alcohol, illicit drugs
(usually cocaine), or nicotine after they were sexually assaulted by an
intimate partner.

Women who had been sexually assaulted by an intimate partner were also more
likely to threaten or attempt suicide than women who were physically but not
sexually abused. Twenty-two percent of sexually assaulted women said they
had threatened or attempted suicide within 90 days of applying for a
protection order, compared with 4 percent of women who were physically
abused.

Sexually abused women in the study were also more likely to have had their
abusers harass them at work and threaten them with murder. Researchers did
not find significant differences in these risk factors across ethnicity or
race of the women.

What Children Witness

The effect of sexual assault in an abusive relationship permeates a
household. Almost 90 percent of children of women in the study who were
physically assaulted or both physically and sexually assaulted were exposed
to these incidents against their mothers. By the age of 3, 64 percent of the
children had witnessed the abuse; 30 percent of them received counseling.
Older children (aged 12 to 18 years) of sexually abused mothers showed more
depression and had appreciably more behavioral problems than children of
mothers who had not been sexually assaulted.

Steps for Change

When a woman is sexually assaulted by an intimate partner, her health-mental
and physical-is compromised. Her children's risk for depression is also
heightened.

Workers in the justice, health, and social service fields can take steps to
help victims of intimate partner sexual assault. The researchers recommend
that these professionals:

* Receive training on the frequency and health and safety consequences
of intimate partner sexual assault.
* Assess clients for type and frequency of sexual assault.
* Assess victims to determine if they are at risk for PTSD, substance
use, and suicide.
* Inform women who have been sexually assaulted by their partner about
their higher risk of being murdered by that partner.
* Inform sexually abused immigrant women about their potential
increased risk for PTSD.
* Instruct mothers about the potential effects of partner abuse on
their children.

This information, delivered with the appropriate referrals and safety
planning information, could lead to greater protection for abused women and
their children.

NCJ 216525

For More Information

McFarlane, J., and A. Malecha, Sexual Assault Among Intimates: Frequency,
Consequences, and Treatments, final report submitted to the National
Institute of Justice, 2005 (NCJ 211678), available at
www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/211678.pdf.


Until the violence stops, Ben.  

Ben Atherton-Zeman, Acton MA USA
Actor, Comedian, Feminist and Husband
Presenting a One-Man Play: "Voices of Men," www.voicesofmen.org (video clips 
take a second to load)
Booking information: 978-263-3254

February 2007 quote:
"We are the people who run this country," Ms. Ivins said in the column 
published Jan. 14. "WE are the 'deciders.'"
- Molly Ivins, 1944-2007