Consequences of adult sexual assault

An update of this section is due in 2025.

Studies show that between 17% and 65% of women who were sexually assaulted in adulthood exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).1

  • Sexual assault in adulthood can have an immediate and direct negative impact, such as injury, physical trauma or death. It can also lead indirectly to a variety of effects on physical and mental health and well-being.2
  • Most sexual assaults occurring in adulthood happen once and take place at a time of life when the victim’s identity and personality have been shaped. Adult sexual assault is therefore more likely to produce a smaller range of sequelae than child sexual abuse.3
  • Sexual assault victims are more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, even years after the assault took place, than non-assaulted adults.4,5

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a reactive disorder that can develop following a traumatic event and be diagnosed by a physician. A traumatic event is an experience that involves a threat and/or harm to a person’s physical and/or psychological integrity. The person’s immediate response to the event must involve intense fear, helplessness or horror.

The symptoms of PTSD can be grouped into three main categories:

  1. Re-experiencing symptoms: the person relives the trauma over and over through flashbacks or nightmares.
  2. Avoidance: the person avoids — purposely or not — thoughts, feelings or situations that are reminders of the traumatic experience. Avoidance symptoms include dissociation, difficulty remembering the event or emotional numbness.
  3. Hyperarousal: the person is always on the alert and hypervigilant, even when there is no danger. Hyperarousal symptoms may include insomnia.

For more information on post-traumatic stress disorder, visit the Info-trauma website.

Adult victims of sexual assault are at higher risk of experiencing the following negative outcomes:

Possible adverse effects of adult sexual assault1,4,5
Physical and sexual health
  • Somatic problems (e.g. migraines, nausea, fatigue)
  • Food issues, diminished appetite
  • High-risk sexual behaviour (unprotected sex, multiple partners, etc.)
  • Greater use of health care services
  • Gynecological and menstrual pain (women)
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Higher risk of contracting HIV and STBBIs (between 4% and 30% of victims contract an STBBI after being sexually assaulted)
  • Revictimization
Psychological
  • Fear, anxiety, social anxiety disorder
  • Psychological distress and severe depression
  • Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Self-mutilation
  • Suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts
  • Drug and alcohol abuse
Relational and social
  • Less trusting of others
  • Isolation
  • Fear of intimacy

Factors influencing the range of adverse effects experienced by adult sexual assault victims

The adverse psychological effects of adult sexual assault vary from one person to the next and are influenced by a range of factors.

The characteristics of the sexual assault, the characteristics of the victim (age, gender, personality), the circumstances under which the assault is disclosed to family and friends, post-assault help seeking and sociocultural norms help shape the way in which the sexual assault affects the victim’s subsequent adjustment and well-being.1

Male victims of adult sexual assault report higher rates of sexual dysfunction than female victims and are also more confused and conflicted about their sexual orientation.4

Even if men are at less risk of sexual assault than women, several studies have found that they report just as many adverse effects as female victims — even more according to some studies — and the adverse effects are just as significant.4,5.

References

  1. Campbell, R., Dworkin, E. et Cabral, G. (2009). An ecological model of the impact of sexual assault on women’s mental health. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 10 (3), 225-246.
  2.  World Health Organization (WHO), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. (2010). Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women. Taking action and generating evidence. Genève: World Health Organization.
  3.  Cyr, M. et Payer, M. (2011). Les interventions curatives auprès des adultes ayant été victimes d’agression sexuelle pendant leur enfance. Dans M. Hébert, M. Cyr, et M. Tourigny (dir.), L’agression sexuelle envers les enfants Tome 1 (pp. 303-332). Québec: Presses de l’Université du Québec.
  4. Peterson, Z.D., Voller, E.K., Polusny, M.A. et Murdoch, M. (2011). Prevalence and consequences of adult sexual assault of men : Review of empirical findings and state of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 1-24.
  5. Elliott, D.M., Mok, D.S. et Briere, J. (2004). Adult sexual assault: Prevalence, symptomatolgy, and sex differences in the general population. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17(3), 203-211.