Introduction
Sexual violence is a common public health concern, with one in every three women globally experiencing physical or sexual assault at some point in their lives. Sexual abuse can range from sexualized behavior to more serious abuse such as personal touching and rape. The psychological and mental consequences and physical health outcomes from sexual abuse may negatively affect relationships. The research question is “What is the impact of sexual abuse on relationships?” This topic and question are important to discuss and research because sexual abuse is considered a traumatic experience for a victim who has experienced it. If not recognized and worked on, traumatic events could bring many challenges for an individual in the future. Thus, a person who has faced sexual abuse needs to know the possible effects of such an event on their mental health, behavior, and attitudes. This would help the victim overcome post-traumatic effects and not let them ruin their future relationships.
Sexual Abuse and Its Effect on Relationships
Because most big traumatic experiences have already occurred, it is generally difficult to influence them. The psychological symptoms experienced vary widely due to various personal motivations, stress evaluations, and coping processes. Stensvehagen et al. (2019) conducted an empirical study to evaluate how women experience and cope with daily problems after sexual abuse. Focusing on everyday activities and pressures, according to the study, can help people understand how they survive after a traumatic incident (Stensvehagen et al., 2019). Hassles, or the small things that bother and upset individuals, are commonplace, annoying, infuriating, and distracting everyday happenings that are seen as negative to the individual. Because mental stability and resistance to annoyances are important in every relationship, it may be difficult for victims of sexual abuse to cope with the stress that may arise.
The next study by Papalia et al. (2018) investigated gender-specific effects and the involvement of index sexual abuse traits, revictimization, and major mental health problems in the link between child sexual abuse (CSA) and long-term criminality. Child sexual abuse continues to be a huge social and public health issue. Among the potential negative impacts of CSA, it has long been considered that sexually abused children are more prone to engage in crime and violence later in life and are more likely to commit sexual crimes in particular (Papalia et al., 2018). Such a trend may adversely influence the sexual life and its perception in the relationships of a person who was a victim of sexual abuse in childhood.
A qualitative research design may be used to investigate how sexual abuse impacts relationships. Qualitative research methodologies believe that everyone has a distinct voice. Qualitative talks that rely on description can influence the audience, reversing the traditional researcher/respondent dynamic. Because sexual abuse may be represented in various forms and have different consequences for different people, it is important to approach each case individually. Conducting interviews may help to understand each experience better and conclude by analyzing the interviews, the relationship between the type of sexual abuse, and its effects on future relationships.
During the research, ethical issues may arise because sexual abuse may be an extremely personal experience that not everybody might be willing to share. First, it is important to be concerned about privacy issues when interviewing respondents. Perhaps, the interviews should be handled anonymously and with the respondents’ consent. When conducting research, several ethical principles should be considered. In practice, these ethical standards entail that informed consent from potential study participants will be required, minimizing the risk of damage to individuals and maintaining their anonymity and confidentiality. Next, it is critical to prevent dishonest techniques and give participants the option to opt-out of the study.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is essential to investigate sexual abuse and its effect on relationships. Sexual abuse is a traumatizing experience for many victims. That is why they are influenced by those events both mentally and physically. By applying the qualitative research design and analyzing the individual experiences, findings regarding the impact of sexual abuse may be handled. However, it is important to consider many ethical issues when conducting a study.
References
Papalia, N., Ogloff, J. R., Cutajar, M., & Mullen, P. E. (2018). Child sexual abuse and criminal offending: Gender-specific effects and the role of abuse characteristics and other adverse outcomes. Child maltreatment, 23(4), 399-416. Web.
Stensvehagen, M. T., Bronken, B. A., Lien, L., & Larsson, G. (2019). How women experience and cope with daily hassles after sexual abuse–a retrospective qualitative study. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 33(2), 487-497. Web.