Experience Of Sexual Trauma Research Articles

‘Hazing, booze and bedrooms’: an autoethnography of sexual trauma in a university residential college

ABSTRACT This autoethnographic essay, ‘Hazing, booze and bedrooms’, explores my personal experience of sexual trauma in a university residential college and its cultural significance. The essay is written at a time of urgency to address gendered violence within Australian universities, with the release of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022–2032 and The Commonwealth Consent Policy Framework. I use autoethnography to explore the trauma across one body and time, moving through the space of four bedrooms. Each bedroom represents a different aspect of the narrative: the autoethnographic approach to writing about sexual trauma, a summary of research on gender-based violence in Australian universities, and my own personal experiences in the residential college bedrooms she occupied in the early 1990s. The essay concludes by reflecting on the value of bearing autoethnographic witness to sexual trauma and questioning what might happen next regarding moves to eliminate practices of hazing and sexual violence in university residential colleges, and in a call to action, asks, ‘If not now, when?’

Training Male Sexual Abuse Survivors as Peer Leaders to Deliver Motivational Interviewing and Trauma-Informed Affirmative Care

ABSTRACT This paper provides a description and evaluation of training male sexual abuse survivors to deliver Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Motivational Interviewing with Trauma-Informed Affirmative Care (MI-AC) online to sexual and gender minority (SGM) men with sexual assault histories and depression. After a search and selection process, 26 men with lived experience of sexual abuse received MI training that included the use of role-playing, video demonstrations, and practice followed by weekly supervision while co-leading groups. Peer leaders completed several measures pre and post training, including beliefs about MI and self-reported learning of MI and satisfaction with the training. A sample of MI and MI-AC audio sessions were independently rated for adherence and competence. Peer leaders’ beliefs about MI changed over time, while self-rated skill level stayed consistent. Peer leaders demonstrated good adherence to the MI and MI-AC conditions. Results suggest that men with lived experience of sexual trauma effectively learned to deliver MI and/or MI-AC to SGM male survivors in online groups. These interventions have the potential to expand the reach of limited services for this population as well as reduce their depression and assist in SGM men with histories of sexual abuse entering into formal mental health services.

Contribution of post-trauma insomnia to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder in women service members: findings from the Millennium Cohort Study.

We examined whether women service members and veterans who reported recent combat and/or sexual trauma experiences had a greater risk of insomnia compared with women who did not report these recent experiences, and whether insomnia would be associated with a greater risk of mental health outcomes. We analyzed two waves of survey data (2011-2013, Time 1 [T1] and 2014-2016, Time 2 [T2]) from 26 443 current and former women service members from the Millennium Cohort Study. We assessed recent traumas in the past 3 years, and probable insomnia at T1 and probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression at T2. A longitudinal mediation model was used to quantify separate indirect effects of recent traumas on mental health outcomes through probable insomnia. Women who had experienced recent sexual assault (odds ratio [OR] = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.24-2.10), sexual harassment (OR = 1.22; 95% CI = 1.05-1.41), and combat (OR = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.20-1.49) at T1 had a greater risk of probable insomnia at T1 compared with women who had not recently experienced these events. Probable insomnia at T1, in turn, was associated with probable depression (OR = 2.66; 95% CI = 2.31-3.06) and PTSD (OR = 2.57; 95% CI = 2.27-2.90) at T2. Recent combat experience did not moderate the associations of recent sexual trauma with insomnia or mental health outcomes. Insomnia contributes to the risk of subsequent mental health conditions following trauma. The diagnosis and treatment of post-trauma insomnia should be prioritized to mitigate the development of posttraumatic mental health conditions.

Study design and interventions for a peer-delivered motivational interviewing group treatment for sexual and gender minority male sexual trauma survivors

Sexual abuse of boys and men is a public health problem that has received relatively little attention from clinical scholars and researchers. Given unique pathways for development of and recovery from trauma-related emotional distress, sexual abuse survivors who identify as men may require distinct psychosocial interventions to engage in formal mental health care and assist in symptom reduction. This paper describes the rationale for and methodology of a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing (MI) versus MI with affirmative care (MI-AC) for sexual and gender minority men who have been sexually traumatized. This study is designed to randomly assign 356 participants to either condition of six online group sessions delivered by two trained peers with lived experience of sexual trauma. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, post-treatment, 60- and 120-day follow-up. The primary hypotheses are that participants assigned to MI-AC, compared to those in MI only, will report reduced symptoms of depression and increased levels of engagement in formal mental health treatment. Additional hypotheses relate to secondary outcome variables, including post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidality, and substance use.

Absent a Word: How the Language of Sexual Trauma Keeps Survivors Silent

ABSTRACT This paper proposes that the words used to describe sexual trauma leave large gaps between what can be described and what the experience of harm actually looks like. It discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the terms rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, incest, gender-based violence, violence against women, gross sexual imposition, and criminal sexual conduct. It explores the confluence of rape myths, individualism, and linguistic construction on the lived experience of sexual trauma. The paper closes with practical tips for pastoral caregivers who work with survivors.

Out-of-body experience

PurposeAlthough prior research has indicated that posttraumatic stress symptoms may result from sex-based harassment, limited research has targeted a key posttraumatic outcome – dissociation. Dissociation has been linked to experiences of betrayal trauma and institutional betrayal; sex-based harassment is very often a significant betrayal creating a bind for the target. The purpose of this paper is to extend existing research by investigating the relationship between sex-based harassment, general dissociation, sexual dissociation and sexual communication.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study utilized self-report measures from a sample of male and female Oregon residents using Amazon Mechanical Turk (N=582).FindingsResults of regression analyses indicated that harassment statistically predicted higher general dissociation, higher sexual dissociation and less effective sexual communication, even after controlling for prior sexual trauma experiences. Results did not indicate any significant interactions between gender and harassment.Practical implicationsWhen considering the effects of sex-based harassment on women and men, clinicians and institutional organizations should consider the role of dissociation as a possible coping mechanism for harassment.Originality/valueThese correlational findings provide evidence that sex-based harassment is uniquely associated with multiple negative psychological outcomes in men and women.

Combining Natural Language Processing of Electronic Medical Notes With Administrative Data to Determine Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Disclosure and Documentation of Military Sexual Trauma in Veterans.

Despite national screening efforts, military sexual trauma (MST) is underreported. Little is known of racial/ethnic differences in MST reporting in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This study aimed to compare patterns of MST disclosure in VHA by race/ethnicity. Retrospective cohort study of MST disclosures in a national, random sample of Veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and completed MST screens from October 2009 to 2014. We used natural language processing (NLP) to extract MST concepts from electronic medical notes in the year following Veterans' first MST screen. Any evidence of MST (positive MST screen or NLP concepts) and late MST disclosure (NLP concepts following a negative MST screen). Multivariable logistic regressions, stratified by sex, tested racial/ethnic differences in any MST evidence, and late disclosure. Of 6618 male and 6716 female Veterans with MST screen results, 1473 had a positive screen (68 male, 1%; 1405 female, 21%). Of those with a negative screen, 257 evidenced late MST disclosure by NLP (44 male, 39%; 213 female, 13%). Late MST disclosure was usually documented during mental health visits. There were no significant racial/ethnic differences in MST disclosure among men. Among women, blacks were less likely than whites to have any MST evidence (adjusted odds ratio=0.75). In the subsample with any MST evidence, black and Hispanic women were more likely than whites to disclose MST late (adjusted odds ratio=1.89 and 1.59, respectively). Combining NLP results with MST screen data facilitated the identification of under-reported sexual trauma experiences among men and racial/ethnic minority women.

Mental Health Across the Reproductive Cycle in Women Veterans.

Premenstrual, perinatal, and/or perimenopausal psychiatric problems require specific screening, assessment, and treatment strategies. The scope of these reproductive-linked psychiatric symptoms among women veterans is unknown. Due to high rates of sexual trauma among women veterans, it is also important to ascertain relationships between sexual trauma experiences and reproductive cycle mood problems. This pilot study investigates the prevalence of self-reported premenstrual, perinatal, and perimenopausal emotional problems and whether these correlate with pre-military sexual abuse, military sexual harassment, and/or military sexual assault, among veterans receiving psychiatric evaluations within a Veterans Administration Women's Health Clinic. Participants included all women veterans (N = 186) who received psychiatric evaluations within a Veterans Administration Women's Health Clinic over a 13-mo period. Evaluations included a clinical questionnaire, a psychiatric interview, and medical record review. De-identified data were extracted from a clinical data repository for this descriptive study. High proportions of study participants reported emotional problems premenstrually (43.3%), during pregnancy (35.1%), postpartum (30.4%), or during perimenopause (31.2%). Unintended pregnancy (73.3% of pregnancies) and pregnancy loss (56.6% of women who had been pregnant) were prominent perinatal stressors. Military sexual harassment was significantly associated with emotional problems during pregnancy and postpartum. These pilot data suggest the need for further study of the reproductive mental health needs of women veterans and their relationship with sexual trauma. The findings underscore the need for Veterans Administration facilities and other providers of veterans' health care to be prepared to detect, diagnose, and treat premenstrual, perinatal, and perimenopausal mental health problems.

Sexual Behavior and Risk Practices of HIV Positive and HIV Negative Rwandan Women.

It is not well understood how infection with HIV and prior experience of sexual violence affects sexual behavior in African women. We describe factors influencing current sexual practices of Rwandan women living with or without HIV/AIDS. By design, 75 % of participants were HIV positive and ~50 % reported having experienced genocidal rape. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fit to describe demographic and clinical characteristics that influenced sexual behavior in the previous 6 months, condom use, history of transactional sex, and prior infection with a non-HIV sexually transmitted disease. Respondents' age, where they lived, whether or not they lived with a husband or partner, experience of sexual trauma, CD4 count, CES-D and PTSD scores were strongly associated with risky sexual behavior and infection with non-HIV STI. HIV positive women with a history of sexual violence in the contexts of war and conflict may be susceptible to some high-risk sexual behaviors.

Women at war: Understanding how women veterans cope with combat and military sexual trauma

The wars in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF) and Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF) have engendered a growing population of US female veterans, with women now comprising 15% of active US duty military personnel. Women serving in the military come under direct fire and experience combat-related injuries and trauma, and are also often subject to in-service sexual assaults and sexual harassment. However, little is known regarding how women veterans cope with these combat and military sexual trauma experiences once they return from deployment. To better understand their experiences, we conducted semi-structured interviews with nineteen OEF/OIF women veterans between January–November 2009. Women veterans identified stressful military experiences and post-deployment reintegration problems as major stressors. Stressful military experiences included combat experiences, military sexual trauma, and separation from family. Women had varying abilities to address and manage stressors, and employed various cognitive and behavioral coping resources and processes to manage their stress.

History of Sexual Trauma and Recent HIV-Risk Behaviors of Community-Recruited Substance Using Women

This study examines whether substance using women exposed to a lifetime sexual trauma (n = 457) are distinguishable from substance using women exposed to non-sexual trauma (n = 275) in terms of demographics, psychopathology and high-risk sexual behaviors. Baseline data were collected from out-of-treatment substance using women enrolled in an HIV prevention study. Logistic regression analyses revealed that when demographics, psychopathology and lifetime indicators of sexual risk were assessed simultaneously, poor health, depression, antisocial personality disorder and lifetime sex-trading were associated with sexual trauma exposure. When these significant factors were controlled, the experience of sexual trauma predicted recent (past 4 month) high risk sexual behaviors such as higher than average sexual partners. Treatment efforts with women who have experienced a sexual trauma may be enhanced by the inclusion of assessments of physical and mental health needs as well as sexual risk awareness training.

P01-394 - Sexuality disorders in patients admitted to intensive group psychotherapy

ObjectivesThe aim of this presentation is to introduce a new instrument, used for assessment of symptoms connected with characteristics of sexual life in population of patients with neurosis and related personality disorders.MethodsDuring the first week of psychotherapy the patients fill a questionnaire, containing statements which cover different areas of sexual life such as: overall satisfaction, present sexual relationships, present sexual activity, dysfunctions of sexual intercourse, experience of sexual trauma, feelings towards one's own body and attractiveness. Data from the pilot study were analyzed in search for preliminary, statistically significant differences between groups of symptoms.ResultsThe pilot study on 80 patients (43 females, 37 males) confirmed, that different symptoms connected with sexuality are important component in distress of patients beginning intensive group psychotherapy. In overall, 58% of patients perceived their sexual life as unsatisfactory. Nearly 50% do not experience pleasure connected with sexual activity. Over 85% regard sexuality as important matter. Significant difference was found, as up to 85% patients expect improvement of their sexual life, but only 35% are explicitly interested in including sexuality as one of the themes in psychotherapy.ConclusionsResults of the pilot study confirm clinical importance of symptoms connected with sexuality in neurotic disorders. Further group psychotherapy effectiveness assessment will bring an opportunity to recognize the specific role of these symptoms in diagnosis and psychotherapy treatment.

Sexual Trauma and Pregnancy: A Qualitative Exploration of Women’s Dual Life Experience

Using a qualitative methodology, we investigated the possible connection between pregnant females’ past sexual trauma experiences and current experiences of pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted during the third trimester of pregnancy with ten expectant mothers with self-reported histories of sexual trauma. Participants were asked to describe their past sexual trauma experience, current maternity experience, and any relationship or connection between these life experiences. Four dominant categories emerged: (1) Negative consequences of sexual trauma, (2) Becoming a survivor, (3) Pregnancy: A new beginning beyond sexual trauma, and (4) the Integration of sexual trauma and motherhood. In addition, subsequent themes and sub-themes that emerged as a part of these categories are reported and discussed. Participants’ descriptions offer clinical insight into both the maladaptive and adaptive dynamics that bi-directionally interplay between women’s dual life experiences of sexual trauma and pregnancy.

‘Father wants to tear out my tongue’: Daughters Confront Incestuous Fathers in Postwar German Literature

Since the 1970s, empowered by the women’s movement, daughters sexually abused by fathers have told their stories in memoirs, case histories, and fiction. In this article I apply the results of current research on incest to analyse incest narratives by German and Austrian women authors: Ingeborg Bachmann’s Malina, Alissa Walser’s ‘Geschenkt’, and Elisabeth Reichart’s ‘La Valse’. Each of these texts depicts daughter‐narrators who are coping with after‐effects of sexual abuse, in particular, split identity and gender ambivalence. In Malina and ‘Geschenkt’, the I‐narrators try to resolve the split by opting for a masculinised ego ideal, a façade self that protects the vulnerable female self from painful memories. On the other hand, ‘La Valse’ is based on an inclusive, not a dualistic, model of identity. The daughter begins her tentative journey toward autonomy when she acknowledges her ambivalent attachment to her father and reintegrates memories and emotions. By shaping and giving meaning to the experience of sexual trauma, incest narratives reveal competing – dualistic and inclusive – notions of the self.

A National Survey of the Sexual Trauma Experiences of Catholic Nuns

Much of the research on sexual trauma and religion has focused on male clergy perpetrators and child sexual abuse. In response to this limitation, we conducted a national survey of sexual trauma among Catholic nuns. Sexual trauma was not uncommon, both across the lifespan and during religious life. Childhood sexual abuse was most prevalent (although lower than in the general population), followed by sexual exploitation (primarily by priests and nuns), sexual harassment within the religious community (exclusively by nuns), and sexual harassment at work (primarily by men, both clergy and lay). Past and current sequelae of the trauma included psychological and spiritual dysfunction. Childhood sexual abuse consistently predicted sexual re-victimization in adulthood. The severity of the abuse, age of the victim, and gender and religious status of the abuser modified victims' reactions to and willingness to discuss the trauma. These findings have implications for education, intervention, and policy in religious communities with respect to sexual trauma, and may prove useful to health professionals who treat abused women.

The experience of sexual trauma

AbstractThe present research was designed to describe women's experience of sexual trauma and its aftermath as it relates to difficulties in coping with the trauma. A small, but heterogeneous, sample of survivors seeking treatment was interviewed in an unstructured format and encouraged to present their story of what had happened and what it had meant to them. The definition and examples of 14 themes are presented. They provide evidence that sexual trauma confronts the individual with affects and meanings which are extremely difficult to manage and which may have long‐term effects. The themes are discussed in reference to general psychological processes involved in the response to acute stress, the cultural context of sexual trauma, and the implications for the psychotherapeutic treatment of sexual trauma victims.

The experience of sexual trauma

The experience of sexual trauma