• An assault may impact a survivor’s daily life no matter when it happened. Each survivor reacts to sexual violence in their own way. Common emotional reactions include guilt, shame, fear, numbness, shock, and feelings of isolation.

• Physical impacts may include personal injuries, concerns about pregnancy, or risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection.

• Economic impacts of sexual violence include medical and other expenses in addition to things like time off work.

• The long-term psychological effects survivors may face if their trauma is left untreated include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, isolation, and others

Sexual violence can affect parents, friends, partners, children, spouses, and/or coworkers of the survivor. As they try to make sense of what happened, loved ones may experience similar reactions and feelings to those of the survivor such as fear, guilt, self-blame, and anger.

Schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, campuses, and cultural or religious communities may feel fear, anger, or disbelief when sexual assault happens in their community. Violence of all kinds destroys a sense of safety and trust.  There are financial costs to communities including medical services, criminal justice expenses, crisis and mental health service fees, and the lost contributions of individuals affected by sexual violence.

• The contributions and achievements that may never come as a result of sexual violence represent a cost to society that cannot be measured. Sexual violence weakens the basic pillars of safety and trust that people long to feel in their communities because it creates an environment of fear and oppression.

• A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that individual victims of sexual violence incur $122,461 over a lifetime in costs associated with lost wages, health, criminal justice, and property damage (Peterson et al., 2017). Additional research shows that sexual violence can derail a person’s education and employment, resulting in a $241,600 income loss over a lifetime (MacMillan, 2000).

• Sexual assault and the related trauma response can disrupt survivors’ employment in several ways, including time off, diminished performance, job loss, and inability to work (Loya, 2014).

• In 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alone recovered $164.5 million for workers alleging harassment (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2016). Indirect costs for employers include decreased productivity, higher turnover, and reputation damage.