How Terminology Impacts the Emotions Surrounding Sexual Abuse

a post by Rebecca Lee for the World of Psychology blog



The terms surrounding sexual assault are hazy. With more people publicly sharing their stories of sexual assault, the details and technicalities have snagged. Everyone knows sexual abuse is horrific, but the vagueness of intention meeting action can create doubt. The description of assault is difficult enough to understand, but what about the other terminology?

Since the #MeToo movement, disclosure of sexual abuse has become far more common in the media. As a society, we have recognized the abuse of celebrities and politicians. Our responses have varied, not just because of the status of those accused/accusers, but because the issue is rampant. Some choose to ignore, others choose to protest.

No matter the level of abuse, words like ‘victim’ or ‘perpetrator’ can shape the way we feel toward the event, the one who caused the sexual assault, and the assaulted. Since language is a powerful tool in shaping mental health and awareness, each definition needs to be articulated clearly.

Sexual harassment and sexual assault are both used to understand various meanings of unwanted sexual attention. Is the emotional response different if a woman says she was assaulted vs. harassed? If she’s ‘underage’ or 18, does that warrant more or less comforting? Should the stress and magnitude of the abuse match the stress and magnitude of someone who displays concern from an equally murky word in a similar category? Since sexual abuse is very rarely portrayed as the complicated (knowing the abuser) and questioning (was the abused dancing suggestively?) type of trauma that it is, ‘assault’, ‘rape’, and ‘harassment’, might not accurately represent the way someone is expected to feel.

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Millions of men suffer in silence after sexual abuse. How can we help them better?

an article by David Lisak published in the Guardian

Research indicates that one in six men experienced sexual abuse at some point during their childhood. Post-Weinstein, it’s time to cast off shame and secrecy


‘We need to acknowledge the barriers that may prevent a man from disclosing.’ Photograph: Photofusion/REX/Shutterstock

In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, more and more men in Hollywood are coming forward with their own stories of sexual harassment and sexual abuse within the entertainment industry. As they bravely share their experiences, a long taboo issue is being brought to the surface. To the tens of millions of men still suffering in silence, this can pave the way for healing.

As a forensic consultant, clinician, researcher, and survivor of sexual violence myself, I have for the past 30 years navigated the too-often secret terrain inhabited by men who have suffered sexual violence. I have listened to disclosures, I have catalogued symptoms, I have assessed emotional losses, and I have also witnessed the liberation that comes from casting off shame and secrecy.

Research indicates that one in six men experienced sexual abuse at some point during their childhood, and this is probably a low estimate, as it doesn’t account for non-contact experiences, which can also have lasting effects.

In addition, when thinking about the statistic, we need to acknowledge the barriers that may prevent a man from disclosing his experiences; not only is there a lack of awareness about the issue and its prevalence (I often hear men say that they thought they were “the only one”), but societal expectations about what it means to “be a man” may cause a survivor to suppress his trauma.

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