Sexual violence is any act of a sexual nature committed against the person by force, threat of force or coercion. It has a lot of varying impacts or consequences on both the victim/survivor, the family and society at large. These consequences can be physical, psychological, economic, social, and there’s also an added level of impact on people. And that’s stigma.
Stigma is even more devastating than all these other consequences. It’s more long-lasting. It affects not just the individual but also the family and the society. Victims/survivors are usually scared to open about it. Their families don’t facilitate access to services for them. It’s associated with shame and judgment from their immediate family, from the community, and sometimes even from themselves.
A survivor I interviewed had been in captivity for about five years, being exposed to sexual slavery and some other types of horrifying incidences. It was very difficult for her to reintegrate into the society because even her family had issues with accepting her back and supporting her. There had been no communication with her parents. Some people assumed her dead. And then she came back. She returned with a child she got out of what had happened to her, which made matters worse. She said she had to live with this shame ‘for the rest of her life’.
This is a young girl who came forward to talk and try to access services. But what about others who don’t even know that services exist?
Stigma leads to further consequences like depression, anxiety, insomnia… sometimes even suicide. So, by addressing stigma, we hope to reduce the silence that surrounds sexual and gender-based violence, and help communities create safer and more informed environments.
We acknowledge Source link for the information.
