Imagine seven women surrounding you to hold down your limbs as another looms over you with a crude medical instrument and, if you’re one of the “lucky” ones, a syringe filled with local anesthetic used for the many girls that have undergone the same unnecessary procedure before you. The elder preforming the cutting is no medical professional. The only training she has is from the procedures she has performed on the other girls in your village. Your bloodcurdling screams rip through the town as they beam with pride that you’re following the cultural tradition that has been waging war on the given right of sexual pleasure and choice for women for 5,000 years. As you sob, the woman sews your labia closed and tie your legs to promote quicker healing. Your mother is no doubt cradling your head, smiling and whispering, “now, you are pure. Now, you are a woman.” Every detail will remain etched into your memory as you’re between two and fifteen-years-old.…
Female genital mutilation is the term used for operations or removal of all or just part of the external parts of female genitilia.This practice has for a long time come under increasingly intense international scrutiny from the news media, feminist and human rights organizations. The main reasons for continuation of FGM are firstly, as a rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood; a circumcised woman is considered mature, obedient and aware of her role in the family and society.Secondly, FGM is perpetuated as a means of reducing sexual desire of girls and women, thereby curbing sexual activity before and ensuring fidelity within marriage.…
It has been estimated that approximately 125 million females have undergone female genital cutting. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that young girls will not grow up and have the desire and enjoyment of sex. The term used in the text is to “purify” the women. This procedure is usually done at a very young age. In many religions, genital cutting is the step towards a girl becoming a woman.…
Lack of understanding of female circumcision (in a social context) has led to it’s becoming a subject of much controversy and debate in political, academic and religious fields, mainly by Westerners and Europeans.…
Trichomonas vaginalis is the cause of the most common parasitic sexually transmitted infection in the world. Infections in women cause vaginitis, cervicitis and urethritis; those in men cause urethritis and prostatitis. T. vaginalis has also been considered as a risk marker for other sexually transmitted diseases, such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. This flagellate is also in close association with an increased risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, which is related to local inflammation within the genital tract that occurs with T. vaginalis infections. Other reported associations include preterm labor and cervical cancer.…
One single devastating act of sexual abuse can severely disrupt the mental health in a woman’s life. Additionally the impact can be severe enough to cause psychological damage that develops into mental illness. Most people are uneducated about psychological damage that sexual abuse, as a child can have on a woman. With gaps in my own understanding, I welcome wisdom to shed some light in a dark area.…
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is real illness that can be treated with medicine and therapy. When have OCD, you have recurring, upsetting thoughts (called obsessions). You repeat doing the same thing, over and over again (called compulsions) to make the thoughts go away. And, you feel like you cannot control or stop these thoughts or actions. The obsessions, or upsetting thoughts, can include things like a fear of germs, a fear of begin hurt, a fear of hurting others, and disturbing religious or sexual thoughts. The compulsions, or actions you repeat to make the thoughts go away, can be things like counting, cleanings hand washing, and checking on things. While these actions provide only short-lived relief, not doing them only increases anxiety.…
For my project I chose to take a closer looked at Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to sexual trauma. I found interest in this topic because my mother has been diagnosed with PTSD and she suffers from the symptoms of it daily. I also have two friends who are twins who I believe suffer from PTSD but are not diagnosed. For this project I will be using my mother, one of my friends and my cousin who works for the Coalition Against Rape and Abuse (CARA) to thoroughly explore this topic. I attended a support group my cousin supervised at CARA. I also gave my mother and my friend a questionnaire to fill out to see how serve their PTSD was and also presented to them ways to deal with their PTSD. The following is an overview of my project as well as the information I presented to my mother and friend to help them live with PTSD.…
Abortion is a procedure performed to end a pregnancy before birth occurs. I will succinctly analyze whether the act of abortion is morally right or wrong. Since the philosophy of ethics is very social and states that we are all moral autonomous agents and are part of a moral community, we are defined as 'persons,' i.e. ethical individuals that legislate to reason right from wrong and thereby have a responsibility to do so. However, there is a fine line between being a 'person' and being a 'human being' -- they are closely related, but are not quite the same. The issue of 'personhood' is key and essential to any conclusion on the morality of abortion. There are three articles in which each author explains their own view on 'personhood' and abortion that will help me come to my own personal standpoint on this issue. The first article is named 'The Abortion Issue' by Mary Anne Warren, the next article is 'Why Abortion is Immoral' by Don Marquis, and lastly, 'Abortion and the Concept of a Person' by Jane English. Mary Anne Warren's basis for her argument is namely that abortion is justified, as she argues that a fetus is not a 'person.' Dan Marquis feels that abortion is seriously morally wrong even if the fetus is not considered a person because it is an act of killing a being with a right to life with a future. Jane English believes that it is impossible to define the fetus status as a 'person', and feels that abortion is morally accepted in the early stages of pregnancy but not in the later stages. I fully agree with Mary Anne Warren's claim that abortion is morally acceptable and that the fetus is not justified to be a 'person', therefore you are not killing a 'person', but the woman has a right to do what she wants with her body because she is a moral agent or 'person.'…
People who have been victimized often have stress symptoms that linger. A common form of victimization in our society today is sexual assault. The psychological impact of sexual assault on a victim is immediate and may last a long time (Comer, 2015). One study found that 94 percent of rape victims qualified for a clinical diagnosis of acute stress disorder when they were observed around 12 days after the assault (Rothbaum et al., 1992). Although some sexual assault victims improve psychologically within three or four months, for many others, the profound effects of their assault persist for years (Rothbaum, 1997). For many victims, the psychological effects take the form of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a Trauma and Stress-Related…
There are hundreds of different kinds of psychiatric disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV). One of them is called Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Based on the research, post-traumatic disorder usually occurs following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape (Harvard Women's Health Watch, 2005). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical manifestation, diagnostic criteria and tests, treatment, prognosis and future research and approaches to treat this psychiatric illness of post-traumatic stress disorder.…
Victims remember events from incident that occurred (Sexual) .They try to avoid thoughts of the episode but sometimes they get nightmares of it while trying to sleep (Sexual). A study that examined post traumatic stress disorder symptoms among women who were raped found that almost all women experienced these symptoms during two weeks immediately after the rape (Sexual). Nine months later about thirty out of hundred women were still disclosed this pattern of symptoms still. Sexual assault occurs more than people think (Sexual). The victim is held against their own will; there is more than one way (Sexual). Victims can be pressured, bribed, or even manipulated (Sexual). Some can be abused into having intercourse against their will (Sexual). Sometimes women are taken advantage of when drunk or unaware of their own actions but then they can be a threat to themselves (Sexual). The effects of the stress disorder can negatively influences the body and in the most conservative study people with post traumatic stress disorder are two to four times more likely than those without post traumatic stress disorder to have any other psychiatric disorder. Humans hate feeling powerless, especially to their own species actions’(Bloom…
Violence on women often has long-term effects on the victim's health. It is defined by the United Nations as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women and girls, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.” Violence against women can cause the victims to develop PTSD or other mental illnesses that will affect them for a long time.…
The emotional toll and impact of a sexual assault against a person can have dire life altering consequences on an individual’s physical and mental well-being. The physical and emotional bearing frequently leaves the victim feeling helpless, depressed, apprehensive, fearful and creates a deep-rooted mistrust of the world (Karmen, 2014). Additional consequences may arise such as, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Furthermore, survivors during the initial aftermath of a rape or sexual assault may begin to develop rape trauma syndrome (RTS) (Rape Trauma Syndrome, 2007). Rape trauma syndrome can have a significant impact on a person’s physical, psychological, social or sexual aspects of his or her life and is divided…
Woman who have been sexually assaulted have reported being unable to trust family members, friends, and romantic partners. Many of these woman avoid having any close relationship altogether. A woman who has experienced childhood sexual abuse is more likely to experience divorce or separation than a woman who has not had this experience, which can put great life stress on them. This can result in an even higher risk of developing depression or anxiety (Whiffen). Statistically, woman that have faced sexual abuse in the past have an even higher chance of experiencing it in their adult years, in turn, resulting in memories and unfortunately, depression…