The Case of Sexual Abuse: Rape, Adolescence Pregnancy, and Female Genitalia Mutilation
Alaysia S. Dyer
Pellissippi State Community College
¬Introduction
A woman that goes out at night wearing provocative clothing puts herself in a position to be raped. Yes or no? The issue of sexual assault has been a major point of discussion within society. Some people believe sexual assault is brought upon by the victim of the crime whilst others believe the assaulter should have the control needed to steer away. Sexual abuse is a problem that society does not want to admit to as being a problem. People are not asking the questions needed to be asked in order to solve this world-wide problem. From sexual abuse as a child to the mutilation afterwards every question should be asked and reviewed to solve this problem that we are facing.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse can be defined as unwanted sexual activity, with perpetrators using force, making threats or taking advantage of victims not able to give consent. Along with many other forms of abuse sexual abuse can come with many forms of long-term and short-term side effects. This brings up the questions: Is it considered rape if the said rapist never penetrates the victim? And what defines the term consent? Sexual abuse can follow, if committed during the childhood stage, into the adolescence and or teen stage of life. This brings up the question of is there a correlation between sexual abuse in the early stages of childhood and leading to adolescence pregnancy? As stated before there are many effects of sexual abuse not only mentally but physically as well. Female Genitalia Mutilation is a common effect of sexual abuse, how common is the question to be asked here. Sexual abuse is a problem the society of today’s world does not want to face.
Rape
Rape is a social problem this society has been overlooking since the beginning of our countries history. Not only is it looked over by the society of our country but sexual assault, including cases of rape, is one of the most underreported crimes in the United States (Chon, 2014.) The National Victimization Survey or the NCVS only 28.3% rapes are reported to police. This is a problem. Citizens of our country are experience what some may call torture and don’t speak up due to the overlooking of the society we live in today. According to Chon, Belknap estimated that 90 percent of all rape cases have never been reported to the police or any type of authority. He also states that it is suggested that actual rape incidents are estimated to be at least 10 times higher than the actual statistic given (Chon, 2014.) This means that the statistics gathered by the people in studies and or research it can actually be a lot higher due to the fact that most victims will not step up based on the fear of not being heard.
Not speaking up can have an endless number of effects on women. This includes them being able to use the resources available to them in support of what may have happened to the victim such as medical help and possibly even therapeutic assistance. In an analysis of NVCS from 1992 to 2000, Rennison (2002) found that approximately 50% of the rape and sexual abuse victims who reported the crime received medical and/or mental health care. Whereas only 20% of those who spoke up received the same care (Chon, 2014.) The silence of a victim can lead to not having the correct medical care leading to a possible lifetime disease such as an Sexual Transmitted Disease or a STD.
A study was conducted by Jenny Carole, M.D. et al found when examining 204 women and girl within 72 hours of the rape, 88 (43 percent) were found to have at least one sexually transmitted disease These diseases include strains of Chlamydia, HIV, and Gonorrhoeae (Carole et al, 1990.) If untreated many of these diseases that these women and girls are contracting can lead to heavy illness or they can possibly even be fatal.
Adolescence Pregnancy
Adolescence pregnancy can be defined as conceiving a child before the age of adult hood. According to Jennie G. Noll et al., adolescence pregnancy is a social concern that continues to remain at a high rate (Noll et al., 2008.) They are many plausible explanations for the continuous high rates of adolescence pregnancy, but this raises the question: Does adolescence pregnancy have a correlation to childhood sexual abuse? Models show that many forms of child abuse likely require the child to adapt causing the child’s development trajectory to alter (Noll, et al., 2008.) The way the brain forms is very critical if altered at a young age it can cause a lifetime of effects. Noll suggest that the acts of sexual, mental, or physical abuse can cause such an effect on a child’s brain that it is likely to affect the child leading into its adolescence.
Such distortions to the brain can cause a number of side effects. These distortions can lead to possible confusion of sexual boundaries, ambiguities regarding sexual appropriateness, compulsive or negative behaviors toward sex and the pairing of sex with violence and or exploitation. Many of these can lead to what Noll describes as a “pregnancy-vulnerable cognition” which creates the correlation between sexual abuse during the childhood stage and those instances leading to adolescence pregnancy (Noll, et all., 2008.) Any distortion that alters or directly impacts the sexual decision-making process creates a direct correlation to pregnancy. To support this thought, in a prospective study of sexual abused females, sexual abused females expressed heightened sexual distortions. Alongside these distortions the same women expressed a higher desire for pregnancy at a higher rate than their adolescent counter parts (Noll, et al.,2008.)
As stated before these girls and women not speaking up can cause a lifetime of effects. As children these girls are less likely to speak out, however, it is often shown through adolescence pregnancy creating a direct correlation between childhood sexual abuse leading to adolescence pregnancy.
Female Genitalia Mutilation
Female Genitalia Mutilation is a cultural procedure that can be used to describe a wide range of traditional practices. Although this is a cultural and traditional practice it is still a violation to the rights of human beings. Female Genitalia Mutilation (FGM) can be defined in a range of ways. The most typical forms include the removal of the tip of the clitoris through removal of all external female genitalia or damaging them is some form (Fisaha, 2016.)
FGM is a procedure that has no medical cause for and therefore is a violation of infant, girls, and women’s rights qualifying it as sexual abuse. About 100-140 million infant/ girl children and women undergo this operation year. That equals about 6,000 per day or one in every 15 seconds (Fisaha, 2016.) Because this procedure does not have a medical cause it is performed by untrained midwives in remote rural areas. It is often performed using items such as knives, glass, or even broken razors (Fisaha, 2016.)
When the question is it considered sexual abuse if the perpetrator never penetrates the victim? Female Genitalia Mutilation is a prime example sexual assault without penetration. 100-140 million women and girl children are mutilated a year with no medical reasoning (Fisaha, 2016.)
Conclusion
Overall, the problem of sexual abuse within the society we live in today seems to be something that is overlooked by the population. Sexual abuse can come in many forms such as: rape, leading to adolescence pregnancy, and female genitalia mutilation. Sexual abuse may be something that the people do not want to admit is a problem, however the evidence is provided that shows that the examples presented show there is indeed a problem.
Work Cited
Bonilla, M. D. (1993). Cultural assault: what feminists are doing to rape ought to be a crime. Policy Review, (66), 22+. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A15025243/AONE?u=tel_a_pstcc&sid=AONE&xid=50e730e0
Carole, J., M.D., Hooton, T. M., M.D., Browers, A., B.A., & Copass, M. K., M.D. (1990). Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Victims of Rape [Abstract]. The New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199003153221101
Chon, D. S. (2014). Police reporting by sexual assault victims in Western and in non-Western countries. Journal of Family Violence, 29(8), 859+. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A389799743/AONE?u=tel_a_pstcc&sid=AONE&xid=ef83cf69
Kg, F. (2016). Female Genital Mutilation: A Violation of Human Rights. Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs,4(2). https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/female-genital-mutilation-a-violation-of-human-rights-2332-0761-1000198.php?aid=74616