sexual assault | Side Effects

New Rape-Kit Rules In Missouri Intend To Eliminate Confusion, Backlog for Survivors

By Sarah Fentem - St. Louis Public Radio • Jun 8, 2018

A new Missouri law orders the state to create guidelines for testing, processing and storing rape kits, which collect DNA evidence from victims of sexual violence.

Behind The Turntable, An Unexpected Resource For Assault Prevention

By Barbara Brosher - WTIU • Feb 22, 2018

Bloomington, Indiana has no shortage of night clubs. A classic college town, on any day of the week, bar-goers can begin a crawl in the late afternoon and hit a dozen sticky dance floors by midnight.

For Some With Intellectual Disabilities, Ending Abuse Starts With Sex Ed

By Joseph Shapiro • Jan 10, 2018

Editor's note: This report includes graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual assault.

In the sex education class for adults with intellectual disabilities, the material is not watered down. The dozen women and men in a large room full of windows and light in Casco, Maine, take on complex issues, such as how to break up or how you know you're in an abusive relationship. And the most difficult of those issues is sexual assault.

Women With Opioid Addiction Live With Daily Fear Of Assault, Rape

By editor • Sep 21, 2017

In Cambridge, Mass., a woman named Kristin sits down on a stone bench to talk about a common but rarely discussed injury that's starting to grow along with the opioid epidemic: rape.

For Rape Survivors, Specially-Trained Nurses Offer A Bridge To Justice

By Esther Honig • Jun 20, 2017

Four years ago, Cait Hogan woke up in her bed on a Sunday morning after a night of drinking in the small college town of Athens, Ohio. Her entire body hurt. Her arms and legs were covered in blood. She realized she’d been raped.

Siri And Other Phone Assistants Don't Always Help In A Crisis

By - NPR News • Mar 15, 2016

When you really need help, Siri might not always be there for you. And if you told the Google App or S Voice from Samsung that you were just sexually assaulted or beaten by your partner, they don't have much to offer, a study finds.

For Adult Victims Of Childhood Abuse, Obesity Is Common

By Editor • Jan 6, 2016

Both emotional stress and a desire to divert the attention of men drive many victims of child sexual abuse to become obese or develop eating disorders, according to a recent report in The Atlantic. If they lose weight through diet or exercise, these women often gain it back. Experts say to make a permanent change to a healthily weight, you need to address the underlying trauma, but resources for psychological and psychiatric treatment are limited.

College Rape Case Shows A Key Limit To Medical Privacy Law

By editor • Mar 10, 2015

The privacy of students who get care at university clinics is in doubt after the mental health records of a woman who says she was raped at the University of Oregon were used by the school in the course of defending itself against a lawsuit.

The unidentified student is suing the university for mishandling her assault. She says she was raped by three basketball players last year. The University of Oregon found the players responsible, and kicked them off the team and out of school.

In The World's Rape Capital, Doctors Fight Violence With Science

By Gregory Warner • Jan 6, 2015

Tina Amissi grew up in a small village in the Democratic Republic of Congo with 26 brothers and sisters. When her mother insisted she drop out of school and help out around the house, it was her polygamous father — and his iron authority — who saved her.

Amissi's father supported her dream to go to medical school in the city of Bukavu. Even now, she gets so excited recounting the story that she can't stop from clapping.

"My father said, 'You'll leave your mother?' " Amissi recalls. "I said, 'Yes, yes, yes, yes, I'm going.' "