Study Document
Pages:4 (1053 words)
Sources:3
Subject:Crime
Topic:Sexual Assault
Document Type:Case Study
Document:#34764506
The patient “Suzy” in this case study is a sexual assault victim, aged 28, married and female. She has 5 years of military service. Because of her military service, she was trained and disciplined in a culture renowned for praising strength and abhorring weakness. In the military, the code also centers on unity and spirit of mission. Soldiers who “betray” their fellow soldiers are seen as untrustworthy and can be ostracized and marginalized. Because Suzy was sexually assaulted while serving in the military, she did not report the assault, fearing that it would lead to her being labeled a bad soldier by the others. Instead, she attempted to cope with the assault and the trauma it caused her. In attempting to cope on her own, however, Suzy encountered depression, a loss of self-esteem and self-confidence; she developed a problem with substance abuse as well as with anxiety. She has stated that she has no real support network now that she is out of the military. She is not close with her family and her old friends all have families and jobs and do not offer much assistance. She has come seeking treatment both for her trauma as a sexual assault victim and for help with her substance abuse. She is a chain smoker (something she says she was not prior to her assault) and she has difficulty sitting still for more than a few seconds at a time.
As Ward (1988) notes, the psychological impact of sexual assault is such that it can deeply scar an individual. Ward categorizes the impact in three ways: psychological, behavioral and interpersonal: psychological maladjustment issues include “anxiety, withdrawal, restlessness, tension, insecurity and emotional instability,” while behavioral issues include lying, substance abuse, inability to hold a job, and interpersonal issues include “ambivalence toward family members and fear of men” (p. 619). Of these three, Suzy demonstrates no fear of men but rather a strong disgust towards any man who tries to show intimacy towards her; she has…
…point where she is able to process the assault, forgive herself, accept it as part of her personal history and stop trying to hide it or hide from it. By accepting it, she can begin to relax and feel more at ease with her place in the world. Some contextual cues from her religion could be helpful in enabling her to process this assault, showing her that being a victim of a sexual assault does not make her a bad or immoral person. Once this trauma has been addressed in this way, the CBT could begin again with a new set of behavioral goals identified that will allow Suzy to avoid triggers or to address them in a positive manner that will prevent her from turning to the abuse of substances or falling into a pit of depression or a trap of anxiety. Suzy should also work on building out her support network by opening up to friends at church and allowing herself to discuss her past and…
References
Billette, V., Guay, S., & Marchand, A. (2008). Posttraumatic stress disorder and social support in female victims of sexual assault: The impact of spousal involvement on the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Behavior modification, 32(6), 876-896.
Elliott, D. E., Bjelajac, P., Fallot, R. D., Markoff, L. S., & Reed, B. G. (2005). Trauma?informed or trauma?denied: principles and implementation of trauma?informed services for women. Journal of community psychology, 33(4), 461-477.
Ward, C. (1988). The psychological impact of sexual assault: case studies of adolescent victims. Singapore medical journal, 29(6), 619-623.
Study Document
Sexual Assault in the Military Sexual assault against women in the U.S. military is a problem that continues to be brought to the forefront. This is because there is a culture which encourages and allows it to occur. The result is that women are traumatized by these events and some will look for other opportunities elsewhere. This hurts the combat readiness of all units. To address these issues, a zero
Study Document
Sexual Assault and Eye Witness Accounts Sexual assault is a difficult crime to prosecute. It relies heavily on eyewitness accounts and proof of sexual assault. Rape kits are used to obtain physical evidence. These rape kits, along with interviews with authorities and sometimes a psychological evaluation create stress and difficulties for the alleged victim. In fact, many people who have been sexually assaulted, mostly women go without reporting the crime or
Study Document
In most cases thus the violated woman soldier prefers to suffer silently and try to get over it as one of those things that happen in life. There is also the issue of military culture that demands that soldiers suffer in silence and never let their pain and suffering become an object of public pity that prevents from female soldiers from coming out of their closets and reporting the
Study Document
In fact, 12,500 rape kits, which are to be tested, remain frozen with the Los Angeles county police department. The report also cited similar negligence across the nation with the Detroit police and the Houston police department storage facilities having a backlog of 10,000 and 4000 untested 'rape kits' respectively. [Sarah Tofte, 2009] A separate research by CBS found that Louisiana is really worse off. The report showed that Louisiana
Study Document
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prelude The American population is largely plagued by sexual assault and domestic violence, as women are certain victims of such heinous acts in comparison to men. Macy (2009) indicates that data shows that nearly thirty percent of the women, once in their life will experience domestic violence while twenty percent of American women will end up facing sexual assault. Partner violence for that matter consists of sexual
Study Document
Sexual assault is real, the current unfolds have put this to the bare. I have also been simply amazed by the high profile sexual assault cases, and how such cases have been handled mainly, to favor the perpetrators while at the same time objectifying the victim. I also agree that it is time to address this and my concern is on sexual assault of females in colleges and other institutions