Often the treatment for rape and sexual assault can be as traumatizing as the experience of the assault itself, particularly for lesbians. The former head of a rape crisis center at a major Greenwich Village hospital related an incident to me that she had witnessed which illustrates this point. A doctor in the emergency room, preparing to perform a pelvic exam on a woman who had just been raped, asked the woman what kind of birth control she used. Unfortunately, examples like this one, which occurred merely four years ago, still happen almost every day and will continue until proper training is provided to those who deal with victims of anti-lesbian assault. A particularly bad experience like this can leave a lasting impression on an already vulnerable victim.
Sexual dysfunction is common to victims of sexual assault, and lesbians are no exception.
The emotional issues which follow rape and assault are often much more complex and harder to pin down than the practical ones. Of course, lesbian violence victims share most of the usual responses of crime victims - anger, helplessness, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, crying spells, depression, nightmares. There are, however, also some emotional issues that are specific to lesbians. Rape or assault is always an isolating experience. Many women find that a lesbian who has been raped serves as too direct a reminder of their own vulnerability as lesbian women and, consciously or unconsciously, they avoid the recent victim.