Impact of Crime on Victims of Sexual Abuse - Essay Example

Critically assess the impact of crime on victims of sexual abuse The ordeal of being victimized can have a severe and indelible impact on crime victims, including their loved ones. It can thoroughly change the perception of how the victim sees the world and leaves them with new feelings and reactions that they may not comprehend immediately. It is extremely imperative that professionals providing assistance to victims of sexual abuse are aware of how crime can have an impact on the victims i.e. physically, spiritually, financially and psychologically (Finkelhor, 1979). Crime can have very important yet different consequences on individual crime victims, their friends, families and communities. Furthermore, as reiterated earlier, it can have financial, social, psychological, physical and spiritual consequences. And although there isn’t very accurate information available about the problems and challenges that victims face in coping with the eventual aftermath of the crime, his/her ability to cope with crime is dependent on several factors (Harris, 2001). When there is a repeated history of victimization and the onset of a new crime, the trauma is augmented. When there is a history of psychological and mental health problems and the onset of a new crime, the trauma is augmented, especially when there is a history of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. When there is a higher level of vulnerability to threat and physical injury, it increases the danger of coping with crime. Most generally, crime victims have a more difficult time coping with crime than most normal victims. There has been research done which suggests two post-victimization factors that augments the victim’s susceptibility to psychological and mental health problem: When there is dearth of care, love and a proper social support system. When there is a very long degree of exposure to the justice system. The incidence of violent crime and sexual abuse attacks in the United States decreased from 1994 to 2004 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2006); however, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (2006), violent crime increased in 2005. Rape was the only violent crime that showed a decrease. Americans are still concerned about becoming crime victims. Americans’ fear of becoming a victim of a crime affects more people than crime itself (Dominguez, 2011). The Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2004 cites that: Majority of the households in the United States, around 14 percent went through the experience of violent sexual attacks or had a member -12 years or older who underwent the experience of violent crimes. It was also noted that one in 250 households had a member who was victimized by someone with whom he was close – that could include girl-friend, spouse, boy-friend or ex-spouse. Furthermore, 5 percent of the households also cited an example of vandalism. It was thus observed that more than 5.6 million households were vandalized during this period (Klaus, 2006). There has also been research done which shows that Alaska Natives and Native Americans are prone to violent crimes and sexual abuse attacks a lot more than other people. American Indians have undergone the experience of violence that of the U.S resident population. Also, on an average, American Indians are more prone to violent crimes, especially age 12 or older (Astbury, 2005). With the development of the field of victim services, the comprehension of the multi-faceted impact of crime on families, victims and communities has also developed greatly. The victims of both severe and not very severe sexual abuse attacks can face a myriad of problems because of the victimization. The crime has a large impact on people at many varying levels which include behavioural, emotional, physical, psychological, financial, spiritual and social. There are also some programs for victim assistance, which provide resources, so as to deal with such issues: Primarily the victim service providers need to: They need to comprehend the mechanism of the trauma and the important role that victim service providers have with respect to the response to the trauma and the advocacy of the rights of the victims. They also need to remember that every victim is extremely unique and therefore needs to be handled differently. They should also never make hasty assumptions of how a victim is likely to react. Furthermore, they should understand that a person’s reaction to getting victimized is strongly backed by several reasons. It is important to recognize the individualistic needs of every person and formulate a plan in order to cater to them. It is also very crucial to know and put to effective use the diverse range of justice, cultural and community resources in order to meet the several needs of the victims. Lastly, it is very important to familiarize with the norms and traditions of the population that is being served. The fundamental question that is asked is that who is affected by crime and sexual abuse attacks? The answer is that a lot of people are affected by crime, which happens either directly, or as the family member or the friend of the victim. Sometimes individuals who are not directly associated with crime also suffer greatly from it, in the sense that they develop a potent sense of fear of crime, also they suffer greatly from the financial aspect of it i.e. lost work days and high insurance rates. Although primary victims of crime can be recognized quite easily; it’s relatively difficult to identify secondary victims especially family members cannot be recognized that easily and therefore require services. It can be more difficult to sometimes identify services that are offered to communities and neighborhoods. One group, which is majorly affected by sexual abuse are first responders – these are the people who are the first responders i.e. the people who are first to come on the scene or the first ones to respond to the crime. These people include emergency medical technicians, police officers and firefighters. However, it is not always that crimes need to have a very devastating impact in order to impact those who respond. For example an officer who interviews a child affected by sexual abuse can be reminded of his own child of the same gender and age. Most of the time, the word trauma is used to describe the experience that is undergone by the victims of sexual abuse attacks. Trauma can be referred to as a psychiatric condition and a medical condition. In medical terms, trauma indicates a severe and critical wound, bodily injury or shock. However, psychiatrically, it has a very different meaning and it’s used to indicate an experience that is very shocking, painful, distressing and traumatizing that causes serious and indelible physical and mental effects (Breslau, 1998). Immediate Short-term reactions of Sexual Attacks: The immediate reactions of sexual attacks occur instantaneously after the crime and manage to stay for about 3 months. This time can be contradicted with the long-term trauma of sexual attacks and is based on several studies, which demonstrate that majority of the crime victims achieve recovery usually sometime between 1-3 months after the crime has got over. Some of the conventional responses to crime are the following: Some of the crime victims of sexual abuse expect a very aggressive attack with the onset of the crime; hence majority of them are in shock and horrified when it happens. Most of the crime victims are unable to come to terms with an assault. They aren’t able to accept reality and think, “this can’t be happening to me.” People who have been the victims of sexual abuse in the past are more susceptible to developing emotional problems than other crime victims. Victims do not “get used to it.” Most of the victims of sexual abuse report suffering from very intense levels of mental and physiological anxiety which includes stomach distress, hyperventilation and rapid levels of heart rate. Furthermore, victims of sexual abuse also suffer from cognitive symptoms of anxiety, which includes feeling lonely, bereft, guilty and vulnerable (Astbury, 1996). These types of emotional and physiological reactions are very normal and are generally referred to as “fight or flight” responses that mostly occur in dangerous situations. During the initial days, and the first couple of months after the crime, these reactions persist and the victims of sexual abuse continue to suffer from extreme fear, distress and anxiety. Following are some examples, which describe how the sexual abuse attack disrupts the victims’ mental functioning and hinders him/her from performing certain activities: The victim is constantly occupied with thinking about the crime. He/she thinks about a great deal, sporadically talks about it, repeatedly gets flashbacks and also has bad dreams. They are also obsessed with their safety and security following an attack and also the safety of their family members. In addition, they are tremendously concerned that people will not believe them. Thinking that people will hold them responsible for what has happened. Some of the victims also undergo a lot of changes in their belief systems and think that the world is a very unsafe place and not fit for living. The victims of sexual abuse also have to cope up with the potent fear of anticipating when the next attack will occur. When there is a lot of exposure to violence and trauma, the youth may be very vulnerable and can experience a series of reactive processes. The ongoing exposure to crime attacks whether direct or indirect can affect and hamper their social interacting skills, ability to identify and express emotions and can also greatly obstruct their ability to relate to people. There was a study carried out by Hamber Brandon, which says that those who have undergone personal danger or some sort of threat in the face of sexual abuse attacks can suffer extensively from grief and intense depression. This can sporadically or continuously spark fear or panic reactions; they will continuously get nightmares, and may also refrain from taking part in activities which may have a remote relation with certain elements of the crime (Hamber, 2004). Furthermore the psychological response that is linked with individuals will differ considerably, as per the adolescent’s mental and cognitive level. The reactions which are similar across the age continuum include fear, anxiety and aggression (Hamber, 2004). Individuals will exhibit symptoms of degeneration, excessive clinging, thumb-sucking, bed-wetting, and also a continuous range of antagonistic behaviors, which include fears that do not have a direct association with trauma, also suffer from several sleep disorders and indiscriminate anxiety. They can also become very obsessed with even the minutest of the trauma details, may become aggressive, will suffer from concentration problems, develop a perpetual obsession with danger and can also become extremely reclusive. Irregularities in behavior, recurrence of telling of events, feeling an inapt sense of responsibility, fantasizing, and a tendency towards supernatural thinking are also common behaviours (Hamber, 2004). The adolescents will become severely rebellious and antipathetic; they will withdraw from others, and engage themselves into activities. Also, they may rashly get into adult relationships, drop out of school and engage in delinquent behavior such as alcohol and substance abuse (Bowling, 2002). Erratic eating, nightmares, sleep problems, perpetual concentration problems, inability to interact effectively in social settings are some of the most common problems found amongst adolescents (Hamber, 2004). There was a study carried out to assess the psychological impact of sexual abuse attacks. It aimed to address the consequences of the psychological impact of crime. Self-administered questionnaires were completed under anonymous conditions by 1,150 high and junior high school students (51.3% boys and 48.7% girls) in a town in the Tel-Aviv metropolitan area Standardized scales were used to measure psychological symptoms and alcohol use (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004). The data was analyzed with linear regression. Consequently, high levels of exposure to sexual abuse attacks were reported and the physical and psychological immediacy to attacks was more frequently associated with PTSD symptoms and alcohol consumption. It was also said to lead to symptoms of depression. The eventual conclusion was the psychological and physical immediacy with sexual abuse attacks leads to an increased alcohol use amongst the youth (Briere, 2004). Dr. Joanne Cantor who is a psychologist and the author of Mommy says that sexual abuse attacks which receive substantial media coverage has an indelible impact on people, especially children and the youth (Bradley, 2005). She conducted numerous studies, which showed that the youth get very scared by what they watch on the television, and start to question their family’s safety and their own. The author says that the stress from watching violence is very strong and it’s not very easy to put aside. It does not go away in some time, but will stay with a person, and is especially manifested in the form of not being able to sleep. The memories from directly or indirectly being part of the violence, which occur under extreme fear, can be almost ineffaceable (Andrews, 1995). The common effects of the stress for the victims of sexual abuse attacks include extreme levels of anxiety, stomach problems, and an amplified consumption of alcohol, sleeping problems and also smoking. Cantor cites that people who had given up on smoking reverted to it again, using it as their security blanket (Alexander, 1999). Furthermore, the psychological health of the individual also impacts the physical health, since the stress hormones in the body also affect the various systems of the body such as the cardiac system (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003). People are very much pre-disposed to depression, psychosis and even post-traumatic stress disorder. The ones most susceptible to these problems are those who have some history of psychological or mental illness, and also unfavorable social situation and circumstances (Saunders, 2001). There is a lot of scope in recent sexual abuse attacks to pave the way for severe mental and psychological suffering. The research done on the impact of c and the victims of sexual abuse attacks says that there is indeed a lot of potential for terrorists to upheaval and consequently, mental and psychological suffering. Especially those who were injured during the attacks may experience very extreme psychological problems. In addition, those who were caretakers or rescue workers may also be the recipients of suffering and distress. Since majority of the sexual abuse attacks are intentionally done to wreak havoc and devastation, subsequently, involving huge numbers of casualties, there is potential for the citizens to suffer intense psychological trauma (Astbury, 2000). Furthermore, even those who have only watched these attacks unfold through media, may undergo serious and detrimental psychological reactions. Additionally, civilians do not have eternal problems stemming from unhealthy exposure to sexual abuse attacks; roughly 20% of the people may develop clinical psychological problems, or undergo mediocre stress reactions. However, if the distress does not continue to cease and interferes with one’s ability to function and lead a normal life, then help or psychological intervention should strongly be considered and sought (International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies) President Bonnie Green PHD The circumstances and the tragic situation may arouse feelings of blame, fury, resentment, which may be more common than usual and can also lead to violence amongst the loved ones. While juxtaposed with the fathomable feeling of fear that every civilian is exposed to this kind of danger, the anger stemming from these attacks can be imposed on the person, who is perceived to be the most likely enemy i.e. terrorist. Although, these feelings of bitterness and rage are very comprehensible in the light of the situation, the violence will precipitate more violence and add to the suffering of the original attack or event (MacFarlane, 1986). Very less attention has been given to the psychobiological and behavioural effects of sexual abuse attacks; hence there are long gaps in our information about the long-term impact of sexual abuse attacks on the behavior, brain and physical state of the individual. However, the psychological reactions to these attacks do have a very crucial impact on the physical and mental state of individuals and society, because essentially sexual abuse attacks is all about psychology i.e. making normal people feel unsure, hesitant, apprehensive and vulnerable. Moreover, it was stated that there are hardly any studies of the effect of sexual abuse attacks on the youth (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005). Taking the predictors of chronic post-traumatic symptoms in children, they highlighted that fundamentally the most important thing is the intensity of the sexual abuse attack and the developmental stage of the child. Also, the amount of contact with the sexual abuse attack, the support of the family available later, the outcome of the attacks and also the disruption of social organization are imperative factors and predictors to be considered (Perry, 1999). Brandon Hamber’s research on the “Impact of Trauma: A Psychosocial Approach” says that one way to think about sexual abuse attacks is within a psychosocial framework. This framework essentially emphasizes on the significance of thinking about violence and trauma within a psychological and social perspective. Psychosocial endeavors to express the recognition that there is a strong interaction between an individual’s psychological state and his or her social environment. Hence, social conditions impact the psychological health of an individual. When we say violence, we have to think about the social context of violence and not only its individual consequences, but also how the social context impacts individuals (Hamber, 2004). Sexual abuse is a multi-faceted problem and in order to work effectively with survivors, so as to help them to get control over their lives, following the after math of an attack, it is imperative to handle the issue sensitively and also important to understand that no individual can single-handedly overcome the attack. It’s also imperative to note that a sexual attack usually results from a very difficult interplay of individual relationships, cultural, environmental and social factors. Understanding the mechanism and dimensions of the problem will help us to understand how to target the battered victims of sexual attacks for intervention. It will also help us to address the problem more effectively. 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