Essay Sample on Sexual Violence: Prevalence and Need for Immediate Help

Introduction

Sexual violence possesses a significant threat to public health and human rights consideration. As such, it promotes unsafe tidings with both short- and long-term effects on a person. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that victims of sexual violence of any kind get immediate help from governing bodies and close family members. Sexual violence can, therefore, occur under any context from community involvement to family structures.

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Victimization Prevalence

According to reports across different states in America, intimate relations have been deemed as significant factors contributing to victimization prevalence in the fight against sexual violence, with 84% of survivors making up the numbers (Breiding, 2014). Cases such as assault, rape, and sexual harassment are deemed to occur in such relations, as stated in the reports by media outlets across the United States. Other factors that can promote victimization prevalence include being of tender age, homeless, mentally unstable, and having been previously sexually abused. In the United States, 1 out of every 10 males is rape victims, while 94% of women who have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after being raped (Basile, Breiding, & Smith, 2016).

Associated Risk factors

The associated factors are contributing elements. Some of the public reports in the United States include the use of coercive sexual desires, violence against women, delinquency, drug and substance use, low-income family relationships, increased childhood history of physical or emotional abuse, violent inter-partner relationships, poverty, weak governing laws, and increased crime rates. 79% of survivors in the country reported abuse from family members, while 67% were victimized by strangers either at school and workplaces across the United States (Benson & Gizelis, 2020). Younger people between the ages of 12-34 are higher risk victims, with the majority being women in the United States.

Protective Factors

The protective factors act as buffers against sexual victimization and lessen the likelihood of sexual violence. In the United States, developmental steps are used as protective measures (Kearns, D'inverno, & Reidy, 2020). Measures put in place by federal forces in the country encourage the need for emotional health consideration and promoting connectedness, use of empathy to show concern against sexual violence, and parental involvement as a way of tackling arising issues in relations that expose one to sexual violence (Benson & Gizelis, 2020). Such considerations are in line with new amendments to the sexual act laws of the country.

Associated Outcomes

Sexual violence not only the victim but even those close to them. Its effects transverse any considerable connections and influences. It can lead to emotional outcomes such as increased distrust, admiration of guilt, and lowered self-esteem that can make one get more vulnerable (Mulder, Pemberton, & Vingerhoets, 2020). It can result in psychological side effects such as depression, flashbacks, nightmares, and suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Its effects can also transverse physical measures leading to eating disorders, reversed life patterns, and changed sleeping patterns, anger towards any form of affection given, and development of phobias (Serrata, Rodriguez, Castro, & Hernandez-Martinez, 2020).

Prevention Strategies

There is a need to set up active prevention measures that mitigate rising concerns for sexual violence as its effects can have an impactful and lasting impact on victims. The solutions are, therefore, considerable of the ever-changing community diversity within the United States. There is a need for corresponsive efforts from both individual, community, and relational impacts. These strategies can help mitigate increased health concerns due to abuse. There is a need for multiple considerations to be implemented in the way in which the laid-out procedures are understandable to everyone. These strategies can involve carrying out statewide awareness, as in the case of the LGBTQ community in the United States, which faces numerous sexual violence cases due to disparity. It is approximated that nearly 21.3% of women in the United States have been victimized against sexual violence, with 2.6% being males (Korkodeilou, 2016).

There is a need to promote public participation against sexual violence by ensuring that community members are offered skills teaching directed at promoting emotional learning, safe and health relationships, empowerment, and healthy sexuality promotion. There is also a need to encourage equitable empowerment in all genders based in a community. Such efforts would enable community members not to feel left out while strengthening leadership types and economic boost of potential victims (Smith, Basile, Gilbert, Merrick, Patel, Walling, & Jain, 2017). Such efforts provide opportunities to community members who can use such developments to meet sought out global opportunities to build themselves better. Setting up protective measures and support centers help victims' access to free health and counseling services, treatment services, and monitoring side developments of any kind.

Victim Experiences With Justice Law Systems

Most justice systems across the country report are deeming issues and public claims on how they handle sex violators. As such, numerous victims and the public at large have reported having lowered respect for judicial systems due to inadequate treatment and lenient sentencing given to perpetrators. Some of the significant claims include problems reporting sexual violence cases such as rape in which the victims may at times feel judged or not cared for as some law enforcers tend to side with perpetrators and disregard eventual case reporting (Peeters, Vandenberghe, Hendriks, Gilles, Roelens, & Keygnaert, 2019).

At times, health reports from a psychologist can dismiss the case in court, stating that the victim has symptoms of trauma or stress, which may end up favoring the perpetrator. Victims can be accused of lying and fabricating cases, which in time affects the victim severely due to traumatization and stereotyping. Immediate actions need to be implemented to ensure that collective appeal applies to both parties. Victims of sexual violence need to be given a shoulder to lean on and get justified claims against the perpetrators. It is only right that developmental measures be in place to counteract growing mental and health concerns on how sexual violence can impact one's livelihood and its consequences on a society and its members (Smith, Zhang, Basile, Merrick, Wang, Kresnow, & Chen, 2018).

In summary, it is essential to acknowledge that immediate sexual violence cases should be reported, and appropriate action is taken. Communities should undertake collective efforts against sex violation, come up with considerable plans, and advocacy avenues for victims and eventual rights disposition to judicial systems. Judicial systems should, therefore, come up with intrinsic laws that serve maximum sentences aimed at deterring public involvement in sexual violence and reducing case occurrence. There is a need to set up support centers as the majority of victims being women aged between 12-40 years while male counterparts being 2.3% of the United States' population.

References

Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., & Smith, S. G. (2016). Disability and Risk of Recent Sexual Violence in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 106(5), 928-933. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4985079/

Benson, M., & Gizelis, T. I. (2020). A Gendered Imperative: Does Sexual Violence Attract UN Attention in Civil Wars? Journal of Conflict Resolution, 64(1), 167-198. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/24161/10/Benson%20%26%20Gizelis%20UNSCR%20%26%20SV-JCR%20replication.dta

Breiding, M. J. (2014). Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence, Stalking, And Intimate Partner Violence Victimization-National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries (Washington, DC: 2002), 63(8), 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4692457/

Kearns, M. C., D'inverno, A. S., & Reidy, D. E. (2020). The Association between Gender Inequality and Sexual Violence in the US. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 58(1), 12-20. https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(19)30416-7/fulltext

Korkodeilou, J. (2016). Stalking victims, victims of sexual violence, and Criminal Justice System Responses: is there a Difference or just 'Business as Usual'? British Journal of Criminology, 56(2), 256-273. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/41469/1/Br%20J%20CriminologyManuscript%20-J%20Korkodeilou.pdf

Mulder, E., Pemberton, A., & Vingerhoets, A. J. (2020). The Feminizing Effect of Sexual Violence in Third-Party Perceptions of Male and Female Victims. Sex Roles, 82(1-2), 13-27. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-019-01036-w

Peeters, L., Vandenberghe, A., Hendriks, B., Gilles, C., Roelens, K., & Keygnaert, I. (2019). Current Care for Victims of Sexual Violence and Future Sexual Assault Care Centers in Belgium: The Perspective of Victims. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 19(1), 21. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12914-019-0207-5

Serrata, J. V., Rodriguez, R., Castro, J. E., & Hernandez-Martinez, M. (2020). Well-Being of Latina Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault Receiving Trauma-Informed and Culturally-Specific Services. Journal of Family Violence, 35(2), 169-180. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rebecca_Rodriguez12/publication/332164688_Well-Being_of_Latina_Survivors_of_Intimate_Partner_Violence_and_Sexual_Assault_Receiving_Trauma-Informed_and_Culturally-Specific_Services/links/5ca929b792851c64bd55e7c3/Well-Being-of-Latina-Survivors-of-Intimate-Partner-Violence-and-Sexual-Assault-Receiving-Trauma-Informed-and-Culturally-Specific-Services.pdf

Smith, S. G., Basile, K. C., Gilbert, L. K., Merrick, M. T., Patel, N., Walling, M., & Jain, A. (2017). National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010-2012 State Report. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/46305/cdc_46305_DS1.pdf

Smith, S. G., Zhang, X., Basile, K. C., Merrick, M. T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M. J., & Chen, J. (2018). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief-Updated Release. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/60893/cdc_60893_DS1.pdf