Sexual Assault Victims

Victims of sexual assault may experience a variety of trauma responses. Remember that in a traumatic situation, a person’s sense’s shut down. Once sense may become dominant. Therefore, a victim may not remember the way their perpetrator looks, but may remember how he smells, or certain sounds. Therefore, you may think that the victims will not be good witnesses, because they may not be able to remember all of the details of the incident.

In addition, a significant proportion of sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. This can pose a number of issues for the victim, primarily embarrassment and guilt/responsibility for the crime.