Session 10 – Sexual Violence Glossary

Abortion: Terminating a pregnancy should be a choice women can make. However, an abusive partner may have forced us to have an abortion, or may have caused us to miscarry a child through being violent or causing stress. It may be important to make space to deal with the trauma this will have caused.

Advocacy Worker: This is the Scottish term for an ISVA (see definition).

Arousal: During incidents of sexual harm, we may find ourselves aroused. This is the case of both children and adults. This can be very confusing and leave us feeling guilty and assuming we must have wanted the abuse. This is not the case. Physical arousal is not evidence that someone is consenting to sexual activity.

Female Genital Cutting: Mostly practiced by those from North East and North West Africa, it involves different degrees of cutting and stitching up of the vagina and vulva. It leads to severe physical and mental health issues.

Hyper-sexualised: In order to deal with sexual harm, we may become hyper-sexualised and feel our value is based on being able to perform sexually. While this may feel like an effective coping strategy, it may be useful for us to recognise that it can be a response to sexual harm.

Infidelity: Some abusers will cheat on their partner, or they may threaten to cheat in order to get what they want. Some men will pay for sexual access to women exploited in prostitution. While it is easy to dismiss the women he cheats with as bad or  wrong, it is likely he will also be abusive to them, particularly if they are vulnerable and / or are being paid for him to sexually use them.

Injuries: Sexual harm may lead to injuries including anal and vaginal tearing, anal prolapsing, jaw issues as a result of forced or prolonged oral sex, along with other issues. This could be increased further if the sexual harm included the use of weapons.

Image based sexual abuse: In 2015, it became illegal in England and Wales for anyone to “publish a private sexual image of another identifiable person without their consent where this disclosure causes distress to the person who is the subject of the image”. It became illegal in Scotland in 2017. This type of offence is often known as "revenge porn”, although many object to it being described as “porn”. It can include digitally altered images which depict someone as naked (e.g. superimposing a woman’s face on a porn performer’s body). If someone is concerned about their images having been shared or about threats of them being shared, they can contact the Revenge Porn Helpline on 0345 6000 459, their website is www.revengepornhelpline.org.uk and you can also seek help from www.stopncii.org.

ISVA: Independent Sexual Violence Advisors are specialist support workers who help those who have been harmed sexually. They support people who have not reported to the police and those who have gone to the police, through the initial investigation and (if it progresses) through a court case.

Love: If the person who has sexually harmed us is a partner, parent or friend, this will be very confusing. Our feelings will be very complex and making sense of them may require counselling or other support.

Pregnancy: Sexual harm may result in pregnancy; this is very painful to deal with, whether we choose to continue the pregnancy or not. Having children when we have not chosen to can be extremely painful and difficult to process. Alongside this, historical sexual harm may cause us to find prenatal examinations and childbirth particularly traumatic. Additional support may be available if we are able to explain our history.

Rape Crisis: If we are struggling with issues related to sexual violence, Rape Crisis may be able to help. They are not solely there for people who have been subjected to rape, they support anyone over 14 years old who has been harmed sexually. England and Wales helpline: 0808 802 9999 (www.rapecrisis.org.uk) Scotland Helpline 0808 801 0302 (www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk).

SARC: Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) provide help and support for those who have been harmed sexually, whether or not they want to report it to the police. They can provide emotional support, sexual health information, advice and they can provide a medical examination if there has been an incident in the last seven days. They can also help if someone wants to anonymously report to the police.

Sexual Health Clinic: These can provide tests for all sexually transmitted diseases. If someone has been subjected to sexual harm, these clinics might seem particularly threatening, but they should offer additional support if they receive a disclosure about sexual harm.

Sexual Pain: Research shows that 30% of women report pain during vaginal sex, 72% report pain during anal sex, and "large proportions" don't tell their partners when sex hurts. Pain during sex may or may not be related to having been subjected to sexual harm, but recognising it and taking it seriously is important.

Smear Tests: If we have been subjected to sexual harm, we might find smear tests too traumatic. It is possible for additional support to be put in place to help us deal with smear tests.

STIs: If an aspect of a partner’s abuse is either having affairs or making us have sex with other people, there is an increased risk of us being infected with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Also, the sexual harm may make STI checks psychologically extremely difficult to deal with.

UTIs and Thrush: It is possible that if a partner is switching between anal and vaginal sex or is being rough and inconsiderate, this can lead to Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), thrush and other reproductive or gynaecological difficulties. It is also possible that historical sexual assault can mean that having health issues like UTIs, thrush, haemorrhoids etc. can be traumatic as the pain or discomfort they cause may be similar to that of the historic assault.