Rape and sexual assault can affect survivors — girls and boys, women and men — throughout the course of their lives.
Following a sexual assault, a survivor may have to face difficult medical and legal experiences and decisions. But the process of dealing with a sexual assault doesn't end there.
RTS
The emotional experience of an assault lasts much longer. Survivors may feel overwhelmed, disconnected from their feelings, or a combination of both. There is no such thing as a correct way to react to the experience, but there is a set of common feelings that many survivors experience.
Many expert sexual assault counselors call this experience rape trauma syndrome (RTS). RTS is a kind of psychological posttraumatic stress disorder, which often happens when people have potentially life-threatening experiences or are witness to other people having them.
There are three main phases of RTS. Phases may last weeks or years. Recovering from the experience of an assault may involve moving back and forth within these phases over the course of a lifetime.
The Acute Phase
In most people, the initial (acute) phase of RTS occurs right after an assault happens. Although it varies for different people, this phase typically lasts for several weeks after the attack. People may assume that the normal response to an attack is to cry. This may be true for some survivors, but not all.
Survivors may display "expressed" or "controlled" emotional responses during the acute phase. "Expressed" responses "release" emotions, which may happen through crying — or through laughing, shouting, talking, or any other way of letting out the emotional tension that's experienced.
"Controlled" responses hold back the emotions. People with controlled response may seem withdrawn, resistant to talking, silent, distracted, numb, or disconnected from their feelings.
During the acute phase, a survivor may also experience noticeable changes in sleeping and eating habits. Just as the experience of an assault often involves feelings of losing control over what is happening to one's body, the disturbances to normal sleeping or eating habits may also raise issues of control over one's physical experiences.
Survivors may also be extremely aware of their physical surroundings — for example, they may be very startled by unexpected sounds or occurrences.
The Reorganization Phase
The second stage of RTS involves a process by which the survivor begins to reorganize her or his life, after the assault has disrupted the normalcy of it. During this phase, some of the initial shock is likely to wear off, and the survivor's understanding of what has happened begins to really sink in. This may go on for months or even years.
Dealing with the reality of what has happened can be very painful. Survivors who are experiencing the reorganization phase sometimes feel guilty or ashamed (even though being assaulted is never the survivor's fault). Despite their lack of blame, survivors may experience feelings of hating their bodies, and may use unhealthy eating patterns or other behaviors to punish themselves.
Survivors may do other things that seem out of character — like withdraw from the activities and people that they usually enjoy. Sometimes, survivors may start taking part in uncharacteristically self-destructive or risky behaviors (like abusing drugs or cutting themselves), as a way to block the feelings that they are experiencing.
The effort to reorganize may have an impact on a survivor's sexual relationships. For some survivors, being sexually intimate after an assault can be scary and difficult, and they may find it difficult to be close to someone in a sexual way. But for others, the response is exactly the opposite. Being assaulted may cause people to feel disconnected from their bodies, and they may seek out as many sexual experiences as possible in order to try to erase or replace the memory of what happened.
The Resolution Phase
During the resolution phase, survivors come to terms with their experiences. They may still be sad, angry, or hurt by the experience of the assault, but in this phase, survivors may begin to focus energy on recovering and moving forward with their lives.
This does not mean that the assault is not a big deal anymore, or that survivors got over it — what it does mean is that they are getting stronger and learning ways to manage feelings about the assault, in order to begin to feel a greater sense of control in their lives.
Survivors who have reached the resolution phase can still experience flashbacks and nightmares about the assault. Flashbacks can be triggered by certain sounds, places, or smells that remind survivors of the assault.
Healing is a lifelong process. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) can provide counseling and assistance for survivors of rape. Call 1-800-656-HOPE or visit their website for additional information and support.
