Sexual Assault Does Witnessing A Sexual Assault Count As Trauma? (and To What Degree)

[Coffee Cup Kid]

I am a member here but afraid to post this under my username in case my account was ever found by someone who knows me.

I'm 22 and when I was a young teenager I saw a female friend being sexually assaulted (I'm not about to go into the details but what happened definetly would qualify as sexual assault) by another male member of our group. It was horrible and until very recently I carried feelings of guilt and flashbacks even though I was not directly involved.

I'm quite interested in knowing if I that is a form of trauma and how it affects people if anyone here knows....

 

[Lucycat]

Hi @Coffee cup kid
I am so sorry for what you have gone through. Please share more as you feel able.

 

[Teasel]

H8 coffee cup kid, I would defiantly say that counts as trauma. As to the degree, I really wouldn't know how to gauge that.

 

[Justmehere]

Yes, witnessing sexual assault would classify as trauma, and would also classify as a Criterion A event that could lead to the development of PTSD.

The first two paragraphs of this article verify that witnessing sexual violation is a traumatic event that can lead to later development of PTSD:
http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/PTSD Fact Sheet.pdf

After any criterion A event, someone can, but doesn't always, develop the full blown condition of PTSD.

It wasn't your fault. It is a serious thing to be be exposed to by witnessing it. When we see trauma happen to other people, even though it's not happening directly to us, our bodies still go into fight/flight/freeze mode.

The degree of severity of the traumatization that can occur by witnessing sexual assault or any other criterion A traumatic event varies due to a number of known and unknown factors... too many things to possibly sort out and are specific to each survivor and trauma. What can be validated is that it was a serious trauma you were exposed to.

Glad you are beginning to share about it.

 

[Coffee Cup Kid]

Thanks guys
I feel a bit...bad/embarrassed by saying I'm traumatised by it even though I am. Kinda feel like I'm crying Wolf.
I do experience some flashbacks, guilt and shame.
I don't fully understand how you can be traumatised from a second hand trauma.
I'm not sure what I'm entitled to since it didn't happen to me (thankfully)

 

[shimmerz]

It was horrible and until very recently I carried feelings of guilt and flashbacks even though I was not directly involved.

Witnessing is being directing involved. You senses were a part of it.

Anything that the senses are overwhelmed by, that causes conflict in the brain as to actions you took or felt you couldn't take but feel you would have liked to have taken are a great breeding ground from a trauma response.

 

[Jnean]

definitely counts as trauma you experienced too from witnessing trauma. Sorry you went through that. May want to see a therapist, could help to talk about it more with a professional. Thank you for starting here and sharing.

 

[Heather]

This is kinda different but in high school a friend of mine was waiting for the city bus. A kid she knew from her school ran out without looking for oncoming traffic. He was hit by a car, thrown into the air and smashed into the woman's windshield.

My friend had all kinds of trouble from witnessing that event.

So I know it's not sex. assault but it's still traumatic. So, I feel for your situation.

 

[Justmehere]

Thanks guys
I feel a bit...bad/embarrassed by saying I'm traumatised by it even though I am. Kinda feel like I'm crying Wolf.

It's not crying wolf at all. It's a horrible thing to endure. When there is a traumatic event that impacts more this one person, it's really easy to try to say it was worse for the other person, so I should be ok.

There is another way to look at it. This is kind of perhaps twisted, and I am hesitant to post it, but I'm going to anyhow. Please read this lightly, ad discard it of its not helpful.

I was assaulted. My friend saw it happen. She told me afterwards she had to get counseling to deal with the effect it had on her.

As the person who was assaulted, there was something really stunning about knowing that it was traumatic to someone else to witness and watch what happened to me. It stirred up a lot of complex feelings - I felt so bad for my friend, and I also had guilt and shame about her seeing it (it's weird how trauma seems to inflict so much guilt and shame on people).... I hated the fact that she was traumatized. It breaks my heart that my friend suffered too.

But in the mix of those feelings, I felt some relief. I'm now realizing that it would have been worse for me, as the person who was assaulted, if my friend had said, "yeah, it wasn't traumatizing for me at all to see you get assaulted."

Your brain and body saw a horrible thing happen to another human. It's normal to have a strong trauma response to seeing someone else assaulted. A trauma response is when the body/brain has fight/flight response (freeze or fawn are also other trauma responses) kick in to help the person witnessing the event survive.

Most, if not all, PTSD symptoms are basically a trauma response that endures long after the trauma is over. Symptoms occur when that fight or flight response gets stuck, and continues to happen when it's not helpful anymore.

I'm not sure what I'm entitled to since it didn't happen to me (thankfully)

Maybe you were not the one directly assaulted, but you were still traumatized by this event. Understandably traumatized. You are entitled to and deserve the all support you need to recover from this. :hug:

 

[Friday]

It can be. It doesn't have to be, but it can be.

For myself, the things that have f*cked me up the most aren't what happened to me. They're what happened to those around me.

 

[Coffee Cup Kid]

It's not crying wolf at all. It's a horrible thing to endure. When there is a traumatic event that im...

Thanks for the long reply. I'm trying to get out of denial.
Anyone know any good places to read about second hand trauma?

 

[RussH]

If you look up the criteria for PTSD it states that witnessing a traumatic event like a bad auto accident could cause a person to develop PTSD. I am sure witnessing a sexual assault would be the same.