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  • Title: Sexual and physical abuse: a threat to reproductive and sexual health.
    Author: Khan N.
    Journal: Sex Health Exch; 1998; (1):1-3. PubMed ID: 12348685.
    Abstract:
    According to the cross-cultural data, violence has two fundamental certainties: 1) that the overwhelming majority of perpetrators are men; and 2) that the targets are usually women. Sexual and physical abuse subsume a wide variety of violent behaviors, some of which are legally recognized as criminal acts. Evidence indicates that the most invisible of all is child sexual abuse, in which nonreporting of crime is prevalent. Although there appears to be no simplistic response to the question as to why men are violent towards women, it is noted that it involves several contributing factors. These include inequalities between women and men at the societal level, and cultural norms and expectations about behaviors of women and men at another level. In terms of the identity of the perpetrators, research has found that a large majority of perpetrators are socialized for violence. The effects of violence on the sexual and reproductive health of the victim are multiple and long lasting. For example, physical consequences of rape include sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection, as well as unwanted pregnancy, miscarriage, unsafe abortion, homicide, and suicide. With respect to the psychological consequences, the most common symptoms are anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunction, and difficulties with interpersonal relationships. In view of this, there is a need for a long-term management of victims of sexual abuse.
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