Publications - Rape and Sexual Assault

One Twin Was Hurt, the Other Was Not. Their Adult Mental Health Diverged., by Ellen Barry, The New York Times, Mar 6 2024.

“Why do twins, who share so many genetic and environmental inputs, diverge as adults in their experience of mental illness? On Wednesday, a team of researchers from the University of Iceland and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden reported new findings on the role played by childhood trauma. Their study of 25,252 adult twins in Sweden, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found that those who reported one or more trauma in childhood — physical or emotional neglect or abuse, rape, sexual abuse, hate crimes or witnessing domestic violence — were 2.4 times as likely to be diagnosed with a psychiatric illness as those who did not. If a person reported one or more of these experiences, the odds of being diagnosed with a mental illness climbed sharply, by 52 percent for each additional adverse experience. Among participants who reported three or more adverse experiences, nearly a quarter had a psychiatric diagnosis of depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, substance abuse disorder or stress disorder. To disentangle the effects of these traumas from genetic or environmental factors, the researchers narrowed the pool to “discordant” pairs, in which only one twin reported maltreatment in childhood. An analysis of 6,852 twins from these discordant pairs found that childhood maltreatment was still linked with adult mental illness, though not as strongly as in the full cohort. A twin who reported maltreatment was 1.2 times as likely to suffer from a mental illness as the unaffected twin in identical twin pairs, and 1.7 times as likely in fraternal twin pairs. This effect was especially pronounced among subjects who reported experiencing sexual abuse, rape and physical neglect. ”

Even with insurance, getting mental health treatment is a struggle in Mass., study says, by Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, Dec 11 2018.

“Massachusetts residents who need health care are colliding with a hard reality: Having medical insurance doesn’t guarantee you can get treatment, particularly for psychiatric problems. More than half of adults who sought mental health or addiction treatment in recent months had difficulty getting that care, according to a survey of 2,201 residents by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in Boston...The obstacle wasn’t a lack of insurance; the vast majority of patients were insured. Rather, the problem was that providers either did not accept their insurance or their practices were closed to new patients. ”

States may now broaden mental health treatment under Medicaid, by Michael Nedelman, CNN, Nov 13 2018.

“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may now allow for states to pursue Medicaid reimbursements for short-term inpatient treatment in mental health facilities despite a decades-old exclusion, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday. In a letter to state Medicaid directors, CMS detailed a new Medicaid waiver opportunity through which states may bypass longstanding reimbursement restrictions on inpatient psychiatric treatment, which apply to mental health facilities with more than 16 beds. Azar said the original policy has posed a "significant barrier" to people getting the treatments they need. ”

When the Effects of Sexual Trauma Persist, by Make the Connection, Make the Connection, Apr 26 2018.

“Both men and women have faced the effects of military sexual trauma, including sexual assault, harassment, or unwanted sexual attention. Such traumatic experiences can negatively affect Veterans for years.  This April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It’s a time to continue the national conversation about sexual assault. It’s also a time to build awareness about ways to support those who have had traumatic experiences. ”

Written on the Body: Letters from Trans and Non-Binary Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, by Edited by Lexie Bean. Foreword and additional pieces by Dean Spade, Nyala Moon, Alex Valdes, Sawyer DeVuyst and Leshai Bailey., Mar 21 2018.

“Written by and for trans and non-binary survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, Written on the Body offers support, guidance and hope for those who struggle to find safety at home, in the body, and other unwelcoming places. This collection of letters written to body parts weaves together narratives of gender, identity, and abuse. It is the coming together of those who have been fragmented and often met with disbelief. The book holds the concerns and truths that many trans people share while offering space for dialogue and reclamation. ”

The Sexual Assault Epidemic No One Talks About, by Joseph Shapiro, NPR, Jan 8 2018.

“[Pauline's] story NPR found in a yearlong investigation, is a common one for people with intellectual disabilities. NPR obtained unpublished Justice Department data on sex crimes. The results show that people with intellectual disabilities — women and men — are the victims of sexual assaults at rates more than seven times those for people without disabilities. It's one of the highest rates of sexual assault of any group in America, and it's hardly talked about at all. ”

Women With Opioid Addiction Live With Daily Fear Of Assault, Rape, by Marta Bebinger, NPR, Sep 21 2017.

“In Cambridge, Mass., a woman named Kristin sits down on a stone bench to talk about a common but rarely discussed injury that's starting to grow along with the opioid epidemic: rape...It's an assault active drug users often don't report out of shame, distrust of police, or fear they'll be labeled a "cop caller" and have trouble buying heroin. It's an injury women say they can't figure out how to prevent. And it's one few doctors think to ask about, and thus rarely treat...One Boston physician says virtually all of her patients, mostly homeless women, have stories about sexual assaults. I wasn't aware of this until more recently but I'm just struck by how common it is. In fact, it seems ubiquitous," says Dr. Jessie Gaeta, medical director at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Few emergency room doctors routinely ask overdose patients if they've been raped. Gaeta says this is understandable in the chaos of trying to save a life, stabilize the person, and persuade them to consider treatment. But she says screening must become routine, because there are many reasons to worry about a patient who's been raped. ”

Victims of Sexual Assault Face More Risk of Mental Disorders, by Rick Nauert, PhD, Psych Central, Aug 10 2017.

“University of Illinois researchers report the trauma associated with a sexual assault places victims at increased risk of a wide range of mental health conditions. Investigators analyzed nearly 200 studies involving more than 230,00 adult participants and discovered the elevated risk was apparent regardless of how a researcher may have defined the sexual assault. Researchers found a history of sexual assault is associated with significantly increased risk of anxiety, depression, suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder. ”

Sexist men have psychological problems, by Sarah Kaplan, The Washington Post, Nov 22 2016.

“Researchers identified 11 norms considered to be “traditionally masculine” — desire to win, need for emotional control, risk-taking, violence, dominance, sexual promiscuity or playboy behavior, self-reliance, primacy of work, power over women, disdain for homosexuality and pursuit of status — and looked to see whether they were associated with particular mental health outcomes. In general, the men who stuck more strongly to these norms were more likely to experience problems such as depression, stress, body image issues, substance abuse and negative social functioning. They were also less likely to turn to counseling to help deal with those problems. The effect was particularly strong for men who emphasized playboy behavior, power over women and self-reliance. ”

Reports of sexual assaults at military academies spike 50 percent, by Wire Services, Aljazeera America, Jan 8 2016.

“Reports of sexual assaults at the three military academies surged by more than 50 percent in the 2014-15 school year, and complaints of sexual harassment also spiked, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. A senior defense official says the sharp increases were due largely to students' growing confidence in the reporting system and expanded awareness programs that over the past several years have included training, videos and information sessions for both students and leaders. ”

Study: Rape prevention training works, cuts sex assault risk, by The Associated Press, Aljazeera America , Jun 11 2015.

“A program that taught college women ways to prevent sexual assault cut in half the chances they would be raped over the next year, a Canadian study found. It was the first large, scientific test of resistance training, and the strong results should spur more universities to offer it, experts say. Five percent of freshman women who went through the four-session program said they had been raped during the following year, compared to 10 percent of others who were just given brochures on assault prevention. Attempted rapes also were lower - about 3 percent in the training group versus more than 9 percent of the others. ”

When Campus Rapists Don’t Think They’re Rapists, by Victoria Bekiempis, Newsweek, Jan 9 2015.

“Nearly one-third of college men admit they might rape a woman if they could get away with it, a new study on campus sexual assault claims. Of those men, however, far fewer will admit this if the word rape is actually used during the course of questioning. Approximately 32 percent of study participants said that they would have intentions to force a woman to sexual intercourse if nobody would ever know and there wouldn’t be any consequences.’’ Yet only 13.6 percent admit to having any intentions to rape a woman under these same circumstances. With the exception of one survey that was not counted because of inconclusive answers, all of the men who admitted to rape intentions also admitted to forced intercourse intentions. (Worth noting: Though the legal definition of rape varies from state to state, these researchers are using the widely agreed upon definition of the word as intercourse by use of force or threat of force against a victim’s wishes. ”

'I’m a Survivor of Rape and Intimate Partner Violence--And I’m a Man', by John Kelly, Time, Jul 2 2014.

“The crisis of campus sexual violence can't be solved without addressing other populations that are at surprisingly high risk. The topic of campus rape has been making its way to Congress and the White House, and coverage of this issue has increasingly been making headlines. But conspicuously absent from the conversation is the narrative of male and queer survivors. ”

Breaking the Silence, by Matthew Hay Brown, The Sun , Dec 14 2013.

“The outrage over sexual assault in the military has focused largely on female service members, and with reason: A woman in uniform is much likelier to be targeted than a man, Pentagon surveys indicate. But because male service members greatly outnumber females, officials believe the majority of sexual assault victims - 53 percent in 2012 - are men. These men - an estimated 13,900 last year alone - are far less likely than women to report an attack. Only 13 percent of reports last year were filed by men, military data show. ”

Sexual violence common among teens. Feeling responsible isn't., by Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, Oct 7 2013.

“Nearly 1 in 10 young Americans between ages 14 and 21 acknowledges having perpetrated an act of sexual violence at least once, and 4% of a nationally representative sample of American kids reported attempting or completing rape, a new study finds. ”