One woman is sexually assaulted in Canada every minute ( 1). A better appreciation of the biopsychosocial repercussions of sexual assault will aid in developing a more holistic and individualized therapy to help alleviate the physical and emotional pain following the trauma of rape. The biological, psychological and sociological impacts and treatments should not remain mutually exclusive. Education is vital in rape prevention and to foster a supportive environment for survivors. Perceived positive regard and early social support is shown to be important to successful recovery. Sociological impacts of assault influence the development of PTSD through victim-blaming attitudes and the perpetuation of rape myths. A person's cognitions have a dramatic effect on the onset, severity, and progress of PTSD following sexual assault. Psychological health is compromised following interpersonal trauma and many psychological therapies are available, but with varying efficacy.
Pharmacotherapies are available to treat PTSD however, they are often inadequate or unwanted by the survivor.
A dysregulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis is observed in survivors of sexual assault and this may be a fundamental cause of the structural and functional abnormalities contributing to PTSD symptoms. Increasing knowledge and understanding of the pathologies associated with rape trauma in biological, psychological and sociological domains will help to develop more effective treatments for survivors.
The prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in assault survivors is drastically higher than the national prevalence of the disorder, which is a strong indication that the current therapies for sexual-assault-related PTSD are in need of improvement. Sexual assault occurs with alarming frequency in Canada.
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