The Body Remembers

Sexual violence isn't only an emotional trauma that too many women must find a way to work through. Sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and even less physical violations such as sexual harassment and "revenge porn" can have lasting consequences for your health. Here's what you need to know.

- MERYL DAVIDS LANDAU

Angela Lore was 17 when a boy she thought was driving her home from a party took her to his college dorm, where he and several friends raped her. Feeling shame that she had been drinking and gotten into his car, Lore kept the experience to herself.

Lore did not forget, however, and neither did her body. Over the years she experienced depression, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and other conditions. Looking back, she sees all as linked to the abuse. "When I think of what has happened to me, I feel an internal sadness. It's made a profound impact on my life," says the 56-year-old former nurse in Mandeville, LA. It was only in 2018watching the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings-that Lore finally told someone and even contacted the police (they could do little, as the statute of limitations had long passed). Two years later, she suffered a heart attack. Poor health has forced her to stop working and go on disability.

The health consequences of sexual violence haven't received much attention, even as more than half of women will experience a physical sexual assault during their lifetimes, according to the CDC. Roughly every 68 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted, says the nonprofit Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). As in Lore's case, this violence often begins early, and women in the military are particularly vulnerable, with one study finding that sexual assault happens to up to 3% of women during a single deployment.

But sexual violence isn't always physical: Advocates say any nonconsensual sexual experience is an act of violence, including lewd comments on the street, sexual harassment at work, and unwelcome sexually explicit photos or texts. In all these instances, the psychological aftershocks may continue to haunt the person, says Rebecca Thurston, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry, psychology, and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. "Internally, it's not a one-and-done experience."