Summary: The Psychological Effects Of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a big problem facing people of all ages and can happen anywhere ranging from in schools to workplaces. Statistics have shown victims of sexual harassment are typically women but that does not mean men cannot be sexually harassed as well. Sexual harassment can come in physical or verbal forms, little things such as unwanted sexual comments or unwanted sexual advances can be considered sexual harassment. The victims can be anyone ranging from children in elementary schools to grown women in workplace fields. Sexual harassment is not limited to a man harassing a woman; it could be the opposite way around or same sex harassment. Social media has made it easy for teenagers to be harassed especially as it is something that teenagers use constantly. Sexual harassment can easily escalate into sexual assault or rape which can affect the victim and the assailant physically and mentally.
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A victim of sexual harassment will often experience anxiety, frustration, depression, nightmares and loss of confidence after a sexual harassment or assault incident. Anxiety can be very unhealthy for the victim as they will constantly be in fear that a bad incident might occur again. For example, a girl’s best friend that she opened up too could have sexually harassed her and it may now give her anxiety whenever a boy tries to be friends with her again. Nightmares will happen constantly usually after sexual assault has occurred. The victim may suffer again every night by reliving their past experience in the form of a nightmare. The assailant or harasser may experience the same effects a victim may experience especially if it is something they feel guilty about. The most severe cases are usually when the victim is very young and has to live with the anxiety and frustration for the rest of their