Imagine being affected by a traumatizing event, one that someone disregarded your word, that you were even a person, and took advantage of you, like a small child with a new toy. Imagine being so embarrassed about something that you refuse to get help, struggling so much that you turn to alcohol or drugs for a minute of peace, imagine be woken up in the middle of the night, five times, from a nightmare that replays the worst event of your life over and over again. Imagine carrying that event everywhere like a cinderblock chained to your leg.

Sexual violence is more prevalent now than ever. With new technology available, such as Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr, and the over use of alcohol and drugs being thought of as ‘cool’ or ‘typical’, consent can easily be lost and lack of can have life ruining effects. Effects that do not just go away the next day, but can linger for years after the event. According to the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN), every 98 seconds, another person experiences a sexual assault. One of every six women and one of every 33 men will be the victim of attempted or completed rape. Those numbers come out to about 17.6 percent of women and three percent of men in America, reported sexual assault or rape. (About Sexual Assault) The numbers presented above are too high and this needs to be prevented.

The incident may only last a few minutes, but unfortunately the victim can deal with lasting trauma and effects forever. “Hell my rape happened three years ago and I am still struggling, now I am not saying three years is forever but three years is a damn long time,” said Jackie, 22, Pittsburgh, PA.. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “More than 32,000 pregnancies result from rape each year with the highest rates of rape-induced pregnancies reported by women in abusive relationships.” (“Sexual Violence: Consequences” 2016) Many women can struggle with pregnancy resulting from rape, having that constant reminder can be too much on some. Survivors can struggle with lasting trust and insecurities when dealing with relationships following the trauma. “I have found myself testing situations now, so I will go and hook up with a guy and I would test him. I would tell him to stop and he would stop then I would be like go. I don’t even know what I was doing-I just wanted to see if I could have control and control someone else like I was controlled,” said Haley, 20, Political Science. A need for control can be very common to survivors, wanting to fill the void from the lack of control they experienced.

“My incident happened when I was a senior in high school, so two-and-a-half years ago,” said Haley “I still attend counseling twice a week-both individual and group. It is slowly helping but I am still not over it.” Survivors struggle with their sexual assault for years after the incident, sadly for some it many never leave them. Many survivors experience mental illness such as depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), along with an increase of self-harm such as cutting and attempted suicide. According to Dr.Dean Kilpatrick of the Medical University of South Carolina, “Almost one-third of all rape victims develop PTSD at some point in their lives following the trauma, and victims of rape are 6.2 times more likely to develop PTSD when compared to unaffected women. Looking at major depressive disorder, 30 percent of rape victims had experienced at least one major depressive episode and are three times more likely to be experiencing a major depressive episode when compared to non-affected women. (Kilpatrick "Mental Health Impact of Rape")

Dealing with a trauma to this caliber can be incredibly difficult. The ways to cope can be non-conventional. The use of drugs and alcohol is a very prevalent response to a violent trauma. According to RAINN, “sexual assault victims are 3.4 times more likely to use marijuana, six times more likely to use cocaine, and 10 times more likely to use other drugs when compared to the general public.” (."About Sexual Assault”) “It is hard not to turn to alcohol and weed,” said Marsh “is it so accessible and definitely the quickest way to forget and relax especially at night.” According to the Medical University of South Carolina, “Victims are 13.4 percent times more likely to have two or more major alcohol problems and 26 times more likely to have two or more major drug problems.” (Kilpatrick "Mental Health Impact of Rape")

There are many long-term effects following an incident like this that victims deal with on a daily basis. Coping at times can be painful and is different for every survivor. Being supportive and respectful towards a victim is critical. “If someone has not experienced something traumatic like this or emotionally damaging, I would like them to know that it takes a lot of time to recover and even if we may seem perfectly fine in a day, we can always get thrown off,” said Alisa, 21, Communications, in her closing remarks, “and I need the people I care about to understand this, be patient, and give me more time.”