Not a few victims of sexual harassment choose silence and save incident heartbreaking it alone. The reason may be kshame arena, afraid of being blamed, or threatened by the perpetrator. whereas,This can have an impact on mental as well as physical health. you know.
Sexual harassment is any sexual act that is forced or threatened on the victim, whether it be verbal, physical, or certain signs that make them feel offended, humiliated, or even intimidated.
Sexual harassment can take many forms, from rape, seductive behavior, or touching the victim's body without permission, to displaying pornographic material or forced sexual desires. Sexual harassment can be experienced by anyone, both children and adults.
Impact of Sexual Harassment
Being a victim of sexual harassment is a disaster that can cause severe psychological trauma. Not a few victims of sexual harassment suffered physical and mental injuries after this heartbreaking incident.
However, not everyone who has experienced sexual harassment has the courage to reveal it. After experiencing sexual harassment, a person may experience some of the following signs or symptoms:
- Easy to get angry
- Feeling scared or insecure
- Feeling guilty or hating yourself
- Having trouble sleeping and anxiety
- It's hard to trust other people
In addition, victims of sexual harassment who do not get help are also at high risk for various psychological problems, such as depression, PTSD, to the risk of suicide. Many women who are victims of sexual harassment also become pregnant as a result of these actions.
Tips for Dealing with Sexual Harassment
For those of you who have experienced sexual harassment, try to forgive yourself and don't close yourself off to endure this disaster alone. So that your condition can gradually recover, there are several tips for dealing with sexual harassment that you can do, including:
1. Dare to act right away
If you really feel harassed by anyone and anywhere, don't be afraid to dare to take a stand at that time. You may be able to confront the person who misbehaved directly by reprimanding them or fighting them.
However, if you are really alone, try to stay away and run to find a safe place, then ask for help from people around or contact the closest person or the authorities for the incident.
2. Tell the closest person
Experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual harassment, is certainly not an easy thing to deal with, especially if you are dealing with it alone. Try to tell the closest person you can trust and ask support from them.
After telling your stories, you can also ask them to accompany you to seek help from the authorities, doctors, or psychologists. It is also important to do this, so that you can find a way out when dealing with sexual harassment.
3. Take counseling mental
Sexual harassment can make victims experience various psychological disorders, such as trauma, fear, severe stress, anxiety disorders, and sleep disorders. The problem can get worse if not treated.
Therefore, victims of sexual harassment are recommended to undergo counseling to a psychologist or doctor to restore their mental condition. While undergoing a counseling session, the victim will receive psychotherapy so that his mental condition can recover.
4. Report the incident to the authorities
The most important thing to do when you experience sexual harassment is to report this incident to the police.
Women who are victims of sexual violence can visit Komnas Perempuan for further assistance. Meanwhile, if the victims of sexual abuse are children, this incident can be reported to the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI).
Tell us everything that happened during the sexual harassment, such as the place, time, characteristics of the perpetrator (or if you know the perpetrator, you can name him), and what the perpetrator said.
By reporting this to law enforcement, the perpetrators will be arrested later and will be processed according to the law. It is also important that the perpetrator does not commit similar acts to other people.
For victims of sexual harassment who have an unwanted pregnancy, they can also undergo an abortion after receiving a decision from the court.
It is not easy to forget a traumatic event, such as sexual harassment. However, by taking the handling steps above, you are expected to be able to avoid serious mental health problems.
If necessary, consult a doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist to get the right way to recover from trauma after a sexual harassment incident.
