NR 602 Marginalized Women Complete Solution
This paper will serve to discuss the marginalization of women with a history of sexual assault. It will begin
... [Show More] with a presentation of the marginalized group of interest and the significance of the problem at hand. The paper will include a background on the specific marginalized group and include a thorough description of the problem, as well as provide statistical information on a local, state, and National level. It will further serve to detail the economic impact, health care inequalities, and ethical dilemmas associated with women with a history of past sexual assaults and violence. An action plan will be developed that can be implemented in future practice as a family nurse practitioner (FNP) when dealing with and caring for marginalized women that fall into this category, as well as identify measures of assessing patient outcomes related to those actions. The paper will conclude with a summary of key points on the problem of concern.
According to the United States Department of Justice (2020), sexual assault is defined as any non-consensual sexual act and includes when the victim does not possess the capacity of consent. Sexual assault can result from either actual physical force or verbal threats of force; it also includes if the assailant used alcohol or drugs on the victim in order to enact the attack (Office on Women's Health, 2020). The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) 2019, supports the definition of sexual assault to include a variety of sexual acts that include sexual coercion, sexual contact, as well as rape and is categorized as an aggressive and violent crime (ACOG,, 2019). The incidence of sexual assault should be a matter of grave concern in the United States. Females are part of a marginalized group that is at significant risk of becoming a victim of this heinous crime. Approximately every 73 seconds an American female falls victim to sexual assault in the United States (RAINN, 2020).
Background and Significance
Sexual assault victims can have immediate and long-lasting negative consequences that have the potential to result in a significant detrimental impact on their mental health, physical health, as well as their ability to maintain social relationships (Curry et al., 2018). The medical implications include immediate ramifications such as significant injury or curable sexually transmitted infection (STI), as well as long term ramifications such as an incurable STI, unintended pregnancy, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideations, and substance abuse (ACOG, 2019; Curry et al., 2018).
The statistical data shows that 1 in 5 women in the United States has been a victim of rape or sexual assault at least once in their life and that 1 in 2 women have experienced some form of sexual coercion or unwanted sexual advancements at some point in their life (Waechter et al., 2015). It has been identified that repeated sexual assaults occur more frequently in adolescents as a result of incest (ACOG, 2019). A significant number of women report that they were sexually assaulted before 25 years of age, at almost 80%, and of that 41 % divulged that they had been sexually assaulted before 18 years of age. Women of minorities have been identified as having the greatest percentage of sexual assaults in the United States. These being in the order of statistical significance; multiracial women, Native American women, African American women, Caucasian women, Latino women, and Asian/Pacific Islander women (Smith et al., 2018). Women serving in the military and women veterans are at an increases risk to experience sexual assault over civilian women (ACOG, 2019). However, 60 % of sexual assaults go unreported to the necessary authorities and it is estimated that 99% of sexual predators are never charged or face repercussions for their actions (Tennessee et al., 2017). Although sexual assault is an undesired sexual encounter achieved by force or the threat of force or a sexual encounter that one did not willing consent to because they were incapacitated, many women do not report these crimes due to a feeling of guilt, embarrassment, or the belief that they will be somehow blamed for the assault (Wilson et al., 2015).
In South Carolina, Greenville County has the highest incidence of sexual assaults in the state, with a total of 315 cases reported in 2017 (Stone et al., 2018). Over 45.9% of South Carolinian women have reported being the victims of sexual coercion or violence (South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (SCCADVASA), 2019). Sadly, South Carolina ranks as one of the deadliest states for women coming in at number 6 in the Nation for women murdered by men and a significant number of these incidences were related to intimate partner violence (Stone et al., 2018).
Socio-Economic Issues Surrounding Sexually Assaulted Women
In America, sexual assault is a significant problem and it results in an enormous financial burden on the survivor, as well as the economy. The financial burden of sexual assaults on the United States is greater than any other crime, at an estimated annual expenditure of $234 billion in criminal justice activities annually (Peterson et al., 2017). According to Stockman et al., (2015) yearly an estimated $5.9 billion is paid out due to mental and medical health expenses as a result of sexual assaults. Over the lifetime of a rape victim, the estimated cost associated with this horrific crime is $122,461 per victim (Peterson et al., 2017). Additionally, the survivor is faced with a lifetime of potentially long-lasting consequences as a result of sexual assault. The [Show Less]