{"id":7643,"date":"2024-04-29T08:23:24","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T12:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=7643"},"modified":"2024-04-29T08:23:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T12:23:24","slug":"beware-of-the-aware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=7643","title":{"rendered":"Beware of the Aware"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lola Karimi ’25
\nEE\u00a0<\/em>Staff Writer<\/span><\/p>\n

April is sexual assault awareness month.<\/span><\/p>\n

An American is sexually attacked every 68 seconds, according to RAINN, the country’s leading anti-sexual violence group and the organization that runs the National Sexual Assault Hotline 800-656-HOPE.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a RAINN statement, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which aims to increase awareness, celebrate the resiliency of survivors, and inform people about where to go for resources and support related to sexual assault. Be an ally if someone confides in you about experiencing sexual assault, or if you are worried that you may be noticing warning signals, such as physical injury indicators, symptoms of stress-related physical problems, or behavioral or emotional changes. Express your worries for the safety and well-being of a friend or family member. Acknowledge their feelings and listen to them without passing judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any nonconsensual sexual activity, including fondling, unwelcome sexual contact, and rape or attempted rape, is classified as sexual assault. Intervention hotlines, medical examinations, legal process accompaniment or advocacy, support groups, counseling, housing, and transportation are a few examples of support services. Dial 211 to contact services local to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every trauma narrative is unique, but a typical pattern I hear is that the victim was a woman who was raped, abused, or attacked and she wanted to forget about it right away.\u00a0 Frequently, the victim wishes to forget the violence ever happened, feels that she is to blame for it, or is scared of what will happen if she comes forward.\u00a0 The victim is frequently so engrossed in this denial that they fail to recognize that they were the victim of an assault or rape.<\/span><\/p>\n

The victim might be able to mask their emotions regarding their trauma at first.\u00a0 They might even partake in additional risky activities like drug use, partying, binge drinking, “hook ups,” or making rash decisions that alter their entire life.\u00a0 Or maybe none of that\u2014they simply try to put up a brave front while going about their daily lives.\u00a0 Few individuals in their lives are aware that anything occurred. This is particularly valid for college students, whose conduct is likely to fluctuate.\u00a0 Sometimes survivors are able to persuade themselves that the rape or sexual assault didn’t happen for months at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder might appear suddenly or develop gradually. The victim of sexual assault becomes aware that, although possibly spending more time in bed, she is sleeping less.\u00a0 She occasionally experiences nightmares when she does sleep.\u00a0 In her dreams, she can see the face of her attacker or experience various forms of fear. She is fidgety even during the day. She seemed to be terrified of everything.\u00a0 Walking, even from a parking lot to her job or class, feels like a big danger, so she might start skipping work or courses. She keeps an eye out for potential threats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some victims are compelled to meet their attacker in public settings like as the workplace or a classroom.\u00a0 They fear that in a crowd, they will be able to identify the individual who injured them even if they don’t. Everywhere she goes, the woman looks for him, and if she spots someone who resembles him in terms of build, hair color, or another characteristic, her heart stops for a moment before realizing it’s not him. The victim still can’t get the noises, sights, or sensations from the trauma out of her head, and she feels as though she’s repeating the abuse repeatedly even though she avoids places, people, and things that make her feel instantly scared.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asking for assistance sometimes seems unattainable. The survivor\u2014yes, I am deliberately using the word survivor rather than victim\u2014is only now coming to terms with what actually transpired.\u00a0 Perhaps she still feels too scared to use the terms “rape,” “sexual assault,” or “domestic abuse” aloud. Although she is unsure if she would be able to recover, she is aware that in order to move on, she must find a solution to end her PTSD symptoms.\u00a0 At this time, she can decide to report the attack or abuse to the police, initiate the Title 9 process (which applies to college students), tell a close friend or relative, or get PTSD counseling. \u00a0 She might not accomplish the other even if she completes one of these.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In return, many woman find themselves silenced or wait to report their sexual assault until later on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You have the power to actively contribute to improving your own safety and the safety of others you love. Although it is impossible to completely guarantee that nothing will happen, there are ways to lessen your risk or give you the courage to intervene and stop a sexual attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

Primary prevention, or preventing sexual violence before it starts, is the most efficient method of prevention. Preventive measures must address risk factors at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels in order to be effective.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image courtesy RAINN<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lola Karimi ’25 EE\u00a0Staff Writer April is sexual assault awareness month. An American is sexually attacked every 68 seconds, according to RAINN, the country’s leading anti-sexual violence group and the organization that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":7663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7643"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7665,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7643\/revisions\/7665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}