Survivors of Sexual Violence have a Huge Stake in Health Care Reform

Marianne Winters is a leader in the movement to end and address sexualized violence and is passionate about a vision of a movement that is inclusive, current, responsive and proactive. She is the Project Diva for Graphix for Change and consultant and trainer for Praxis for Change.

It's Wednesday evening, a few minutes before President Obama's big speech on health care. I'm in my hotel room at the National Sexual Assault Conference. I can see a view of the Washington monument from my room and I spent the day talking to people who work in rape crisis centers, coalitions and policy organizations on sexual violence. Can't help but connect the dots to the issues of survivors of sexual violence and the stake that we all have in the health care issue.

Research findings are telling the story loud and clear. People who live through sexual assault, children who are sexually exploited have worse overall health over their lifetimes than the general population. By worse I mean the whole package. Survivors of sexual assault have higher incidences of cancers, cardio-vascular disease, gastrointestinal disease and nervous system disorders. For every major system in the body, the experience of sexual assault seems to heighten the odds and shorten the lives of survivors. For reasons that are yet to be fully understood, survivors of rape and other forms of sexual assault have a huge stake in this issue.

Health care, and access to the benefits of decent preventative and intervention treatment are indeed an issue for policy development as it relates to sexual assault survivors. Decent health care would include training and support for medical professionals to screen for and provide supported referrals to survivors. Training for technicians, surgeons, nurses, and social workers on the normal responses that survivors have to sexual assault and how to help support them through testing, surgery, recovery, and prevention would be a part of a comprehensive health care system that works for survivors.

For advocates in the movement to address sexual violence, it would mean program development and training so that we can support survivors as they access the health care system. It would mean learning to ask questions about a survivor's health status and developing programs that provide preventative and wellness options for survivors.

The health impact of sexual violence, if taken on as an issue within rape crisis centers, would be a visible and important issue, a next step for rape crisis centers. Our vision of recovery for survivors, as well as for whole and well communities must be informed by these issues. It's the logical and right next step for our work toward health.