Many women have participated in the powerful #Metoo hashtag across social media, adding their voice to the difficult topic of sexual assault. The solidarity is bringing new attention to widespread issues of rape, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. Now, many are asking how this affects our mental health, and Psychology Today has presented important points to keep in mind. As we as a society navigate these difficult times, know that help is available. And for those in West Side Cleveland area, please reach out to us for your psychiatry needs.
Sexual Abuse Disproportionately Affects Women
Statistically speaking, almost all (at least 90 percent) of sexual abuse victims are women. As many as one in six women will be raped during her lifetime, and many more will face other forms of sexual assault such as unwanted touching or sexualized threats online. This points to extremely problematic social attitudes about women. These attitudes affect even women who aren’t victimized. Most women know someone who has been abused and many expend significant emotional and physical resources avoiding danger. Others develop anxiety about the possibility of becoming a victim.
This is precisely why #MeToo is so powerful. It showed women that they’re not alone and that their experiences happen in a broader political and gender context. It also made visible to men what often is not: that the women in their lives and at their jobs may be dealing with a wide range of trauma due to sexual abuse.
Sexual Harassment Creates a Hostile World
Much of the recent dialogue focused on rape and other violent forms of sexual assault. Yet research shows that sexual harassment is the most common form of sexual abuse women face. In the workplace, it can reinforce gender norms and be used to make women feel inferior. It can even become a way to coerce women into unwanted sex.
Workplace sexual harassment is just one form of this abuse. Another form, called street harassment, occurs when women face aggressive sexual overtures from men out in the world. Many report that, when they rebuff these advances, men threaten them or call them ugly. This creates a high price for being a woman in public and can leave many women feeling anxious, insecure, and constantly on alert.
The Link Between Sexual Abuse and Mental Health
Most data suggests that women experience mental health problems at rates significantly higher than men. It’s easy to chalk this up to hormones, or to something unique about the female brain. Yet there’s a more obvious culprit here: women live in a society that continually exposes them to trauma and reminds them of their supposed inferiority. Research has repeatedly linked exposure to discrimination to stress and mental illness.
Much media attention has focused on the epidemic of PTSD and mental illness among military veterans. But rape and sexual assault might actually be the most common cause of PTSD. Data suggests that anywhere from 30 to 80 percent of sexual assault survivors develop PTSD. With so many women exposed to sexual assault, it becomes clear that the disparity between men and women in mental health issues might be closely related to the trauma many women face.
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