WHAT will usually happen is the victim will suffer some degree of post traumatic stress disorder and there are four influencing factors in the extent of the disorder suffered by individuals.
First of all the act itself so if it's rape, as opposed to molestation, it's worse.
The second factor is the relationship between the victim and the abuser. If it's a stranger it's less stressful than if it's someone the victim knows and the most traumatic is when the abuse is carried out by a parent, so the degree of the abuse of trust is a factor.
Thirdly, is the method used. So was there any force, any violence or aggression, or was the victim coerced in to it and this is the peculiar one because sometimes if the victim is forced they are less traumatised than a victim who is coerced because they feel responsibility for their own actions and wrongly blame themselves.
The final thing is what happened on disclosure and that's like secondary abuse. When they disclose and they are not heard or believed then that can be very traumatising, likewise if they have to keep it a secret for a long time.
So those four things all impact on how traumatised a victim will be.
There is also a problem unique to historic sex abuse because when they begin to recall, even though they've always remembered the abuse, the way they've coped all this time is to try to forget it.
So as soon as they have the courage to tell someone they have to bring it to the forefront of their mind so to disclose it is almost like reliving it and obviously very traumatic.
