Illustration by Samantha Mandujano, Chief Illustrator
Article by Elly Herrick, Editor-in-Chief
Many locals see the I-94 interstate as a convenient way to travel, but they may not realize that it’s actually a thoroughfare for trafficking humans out of Kenosha and Racine to the larger cities of Chicago and Milwaukee.
Sexual assault is an epidemic that 321,500 American victims per year can attest to. The impacts linger years after, said one Indian Trail teen who survived such an ordeal.
“I was nervous to say or do anything, so I just tried to laugh it off and show that I was uncomfortable and it never worked,” General Studies senior Julianne Nunez said.
“I have had many talks with a teacher who has really helped me in navigating things. I also emailed with the superintendent and talked with my counselor and the principal,” she said. “Doing all of this and going back through was really difficult for me, because I was constantly reliving what had happened.”
Nearly one in three teenage girls have faced some sort of sexual assault or violence, a new National Woman Law Center survey shows.
“When the person does not get support to recover from the incident, the incident can lead to repeated flashbacks and/or impact self-esteem leading to depression and withdrawal or excessive anger and aggression,” said Karin Vogt, a school psychologist of 25 years.
Human sex trafficking statistics show some children are more vulnerable when it comes to human trafficking. This includes missing or runaway children but also those who have experienced sexual abuse, assault, or rape, those who have substance abuse issues, and those who identify as LGBTQ and have been either stigmatized by their family or kicked out of the home.
Common responses to sexual assault are fear, feelings of lost control, and flashbacks to the assault. Assault can also disrupt other relationships that have nothing to do with the assault itself. Victims can feel ashamed and dirty after an assault takes place which makes it hard to concentrate as it effects many parts of the brain.
“Brain scans have shown changes in the brain from trauma,” Vogt said. “The brain does not appear activated in these scans usually in the emotional control center — the amygdala and hippocampus. Research also shows limited expressive and receptive language skills.”
In a September 2021 study, 145 women ages 40-60 had MRI scans to measure how much water existed in different tissues of the body to measure the amount of white matter in the brain. MRI scans are typically used to detect brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, and more.
Out of those tested, 23% of the women had experienced sexual assaulted. White matter plays an essential role in communication with the brain and spinal cord, so damage to this tissue can lead to issues with problem-solving, memory, and concentration.
The MRI showed that women with a history of sexual assault had greater white matter hyperintensities in the brain than the other participants that were not assaulted. “When the person does not get support to recover from the incident, the incident can lead to repeated flashbacks and/or impact self-esteem leading to depression and withdrawal or excessive anger and aggression,” Vogt said.
“The person is likely to appear anxious, withdrawn and/or very emotionally reactive. Heightened levels of cortisol can impact memory and emotional control,” she said.
When someone has been assaulted, they may experience their body freezing up, known as tonic immobility, which is the brain basically disconnecting itself from the body. This reaction is an adaptive survival skill similar to fight or flight reactions. Victims can also suffer from PTSD which can impact them long term.
“Sexual assault can have long term affects on people. I, for example, still suffer from the affects of my assault in middle school,” Nunez said. “When something traumatic like this happens, it holds on to a person until they’re able to deal with it and process it in a healthy way.”
According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), every 98 seconds someone in the U.S is sexually assaulted.
“Please reach out to someone,” Nunez said. “It could seriously positively impact you, and you could get the justice you deserve. You are more than worth it.”
According to RAINN, out of 1,000 sexual assaulters 975 perpetrators walk free. To explain this further, when an assault occurs, about 310 out of 1,000 people report to the police, then 50 of those cases lead to an arrest. After the arrest, 28 of those cases would lead into a felony conviction, then 25 of those 1,000 perpetrators are incarcerated. Meaning that about 99% of perpetrators walk free.
“It felt like almost everyone was just sitting back and doing nothing and telling me that it had already been dealt with, but I didn’t feel like anyone was really listening to me when I tried to talk talk about the way it affects me today,” Nunez said.