Strong ties between sexual assault & future substance abuse

When we think of the aftermath of sexual assault, we tend to think about physical and emotional trauma. We may consider the high incidence of substance use in sexual assault (75% of sexual assaults include substance use on the part of the victim, the perpetrator or both). We may not be aware of the strong link between sexual assault and future substance abuse. In fact, victims of sexual abuse are 13 times more likely to become alcoholics. They are 26 times more likely to develop a major drug abuse problem. Why? PTSD and unresolved emotional trauma.

Nearly 80% of victims report experiencing some form of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), including flashbacks, nightmares or painful emotions that remind them of the assault. One-third of survivors experience longer term PTSD. These episodes may be triggered by anything that reminds them of the assault. If the attacker was wearing cologne, smelling that cologne can kick their limbic system into fight or flight mode. They may experience the same emotions, fear and even physical pain that they experienced during the actual assault. Understandably, these experiences are very traumatic. If a survivor is not able to work through these emotions with therapy or by

other means, they may turn to alcohol or drugs to escape the pain of reliving their assault. Oftentimes, this substance use turns to abuse.

Many effective substance abuse programs now provide counseling to deal with the initial trauma of sexual assault in addition to tackling substance abuse issues.

As we consider the benefit of self-defense training, it's clear that if we can prevent sexual assault in the first place, we can help to prevent many substance abuse issues in the future.