Sexual violence is a relatively recent concept, but the act itself have been happening for centuries. From Greek Antiquity to our present there are several reports about rapes and kidnaps over the times. In the middle age also there were many stories that implies on sexual violence, but at the time it already was considered a crime - if the victim was virgin and noblewoman. These reports shows that sexual violence is not a problem that only occurs in our time, it's something that applies to human beings from any age of history, and that's why it's a difficult problem to solve. Difficult, but not impossible.

The statistics are terrifying: 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men in the United States has experienced an attempted or completed rape at some time of their lives, and in 80 percent of the cases, the victim knew the agressor. They also show that 1 in 5 college women experienced completed or attempted rape during their college years. It's not completely surprising, since more than half of lifetime rapes happens before the victim reach 18 years old, but those are still very alarming data. Specially because most of the sexual violence cases comes from people the victims know and trust. The results can be catastrophic.

Sexual violence goes way beyond the uncomfortable and panic sensations while the violence is actually happening. It leaves scars that can last for the rest of the victim's life. Physically speaking, many long-lasting simptons are diagnosised as results of sexual violence, like chronic pelvic pain, premenstrual syndrome, gastrointestinal disorders, headache, and others. Besides that, there are the sexually trasmitted diseases (including HIV) and the possibilitie of pregnancy. But the psychologicals consequences are worst. The immediate impacts involves reactions like fear, shock, confusion and anxiety. Also, the symptons of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are present, such as emotional detachment, sleep disturbances and flashbacks. The long-term impacts includes anxiety, guilt, nervousness, phobias, depression, alienation and sexual dysfunction. Woman who reported forced sex have greater risk of depression and are more likely to commit suicide. And sexual violence can also strain relationships between the victims and their families and friends.

It's about time to stop it. The more people stay quiet and doesn't report those crimes, the more they will keep happening. Sexual violence involves any sex act completed or attempted against the victim's will, using actual or threatened physical force or emotional coarcion. If any of this happened to you or someone you know, you must do something about it. That war against that kind of violence only will stop when we start to fight it. Let's do our best to keep others from being the next victims.

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