Eating Disorders and Sexual Assault

Eating disorders and other long-term concerns can result from sexual assault. This post aims to shed light on the impact of assault on victims' life after the initial event.

Eating disorders can be a way for an individual to take back control of their lives and deal with body image issues. People try to reclaim some of that power when they feel helpless in their own lives. Sexual assault victims frequently experience a sense of being out of control and turn to eating disorders to regain it. They try to cope with the pain of their assault in this way because they feel so out of place as their lives change around them.

As a result of the offender, sexual assault victims may also develop a negative relationship with their bodies. As a result, kids could develop bad eating patterns that eventually result in an eating problem.

Eating disorders are utilized as a coping mechanism for the painful emotions brought on by sexual assault and other forms of abuse. According to research, approximately 30% of people who suffer from eating disorders were sexually abused as children.

https://www.nsvrc.org/blogs/connection-between-eating-disorders-and-sexual-violence