Consequences of sexual abuse on mental health and social life of female victims

Abstract

Background: Sexual abuse has become a concerning issue of public health which is a crime and has become a very common phenomenon all over the world both in urban and rural areas. Females especially the girls are profoundly being sexually abused which has become a customary occurrence in our country. Sexual abuse may have awful impact on a female‟s life and can cause terrible consequence in mental health, family life and social life. Objectives of the study: The objectives were to explore the understanding about sexual abuse and mental health among female survivors of sexual abuse, to know how females become victimized to sexual abuse, to identifying the impact of sexual abuse on mental health, family life and social life among female victims Methodology: Phenomenological research design of qualitative method was used for the study. Participants were selected by snowball sampling. Data was collected by face to face interview. Data was analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Result and Discussion: After analyzing data, it was found that some female victims are not aware of sexual abuse and mental health. Most of the victims became victimized at their childhood for the first time. Then they became victimized again. Female survivors suffer from huge range symptoms of mental illness and face many negative changes at their family and social life. Conclusion: Occupational Therapists should focus on this issue when working with clients with psychosocial problems. Key words: Sexual abuse, Mental Health, Social stigma