It's time to speak about the economic cost of sexual assault

It's time to speak about the economic cost of sexual assault

The Kavanaugh scandal is an opportunity to finally talk about the economic toll sexual assault takes on our society.


Christine Blasey Ford is sworn in before testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC on September 27, 2018 [Reuters/Win McNamee]



I recently did a straw poll of the women in my life and realised that I know more survivors of sexual assault than I do mothers. The national statistics are staggering - according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, "one in three women … in the US have experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime." US Department of Justice data shows that only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to the police. That means two out of every three incidents go unreported. Often times, even when these incidents are reported, they're not taken seriously. I still can't believe that this is the reality of most of the women I know. The sun will rise in the east, the sun will set in the west, you'll get your period, and you'll probably be sexually assaulted at some point in your life. That's a raw deal.

But as I watched Dr Christine Blasey Ford give testimony about how Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her - a moment of reluctant unity for at least one third of women in the US - my mind was focused on the economic cost of sexual assault on women. I asked myself: Is there a causal relationship between experiencing the event and aftermath of assault, and the lack of economic parity that exists between genders in the US and abroad? In addition to everything else that holds women back financially and professionally, could the prevalence of assault also help explain why women make up an infinitesimal margin of the ruling class and power elite? How do the long-term effects of surviving assault continue to impact survivors in every way, including achievement?

Let us take the case of Dr Ford, who had to put her mental, emotional, and physical safety on the line to report the sexual assault she suffered. During her testimony she was asked to discuss the short and long-term impacts of being a survivor. Dr Ford mentioned her first two "disastrous" years as an undergrad at University of North Carolina. Although she went on to earn a PhD, those disastrous times could have cost her academic career. Imagine all the women who experienced life-long economic disadvantage from the devastating trauma brought on by assault. Perhaps due to the resulting anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they are unable to go back to work or complete college, or even if they do, they subsequently struggle financially or are unable to advance in their careers. In the simplest of terms, survivors and the subsequent decrease in accumulation of wealth they experience is lost human capital. As has been proven time and time again, the more capital that's funneled into an economy, the more robust that economy. By allowing "boys to be boys" with impunity, we're not only compromising on a social contract of civility, we're actually preventing a third of the female population from fulfilling their economic potential, which is handicapping the American economy, plain and simple.

The research findings that are offered about the costs of sexual assault are in no way exhaustive, but they do offer a slice of the pie. For example, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the total cost survivors incurred as a result of sexual assault was $18m in 2002. Adjusted to today, that number would probably be significantly higher. The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence states "survivors who were sexually assaulted during adolescence have been found to have reduced income as adults, with an estimated lifetime income loss of $241,600." One study by the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault indicates that "one cause of reduced lifetime income is related to reduced education." They contend that women who have survived sexual abuse are three times more likely not to complete high school, compared to women reporting no sexual abuse. But even if one graduates from high school and gets higher education, the financial burden of being a survivor remains significant.

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https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/time-speak-economic-cost-sexual-assault-180930071453246.html