Here is a story I came across from a woman who wrote about her reaction to sexual trauma -- Sex After Trauma (Pt. II): The Psychology Behind My Promiscuity that was written by Katherine Ripley and published on the Huffington Post.
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study linked childhood trauma to later behaviors, and one such behavior was increased promiscuity. Three separate measures for sexuality were queried with “The risk of early intercourse, promiscuity, and sexual dissatisfaction were increased 6.6-, 3.6-, and 2-fold, respectively, for persons with ≥ 4 ACEs.”
Sexual behavior used to be a difficult topic for me to discuss. I came from a religious family, raised without a father present. My sex education was to receive a condom and learn how to use it. That was about 13 years of age. I had hit puberty at about 11 years of age. I remember the first visible signs with worry and frustration because of religious prohibitions around sexual behavior. I am sure many don’t receive even this small amount of information, although the Internet makes it all available pretty much without limit. But given the possible consequences of ACEs on sexual behavior, can we afford to ignore screening for childhood trauma and treating it much longer? We don't screen in Alaska.
Sexual behaviors contribute to host of societal problems. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are higher among American Indians and Alaska Natives. From the federal 2013 STD surveillance data, we see that chlamydia is 4.1 times higher than the white rate, syphilis slightly higher than the white population and gonorrhea rates increased almost 62% between 2008 and 2012. Teen pregnancy rates are also higher among Alaska Natives. In 2011, 44% of teen births in Alaska came from Alaska Natives, despite being only 19% of the state’s population.
Healing is possible. That’s the message from Ripley's story. But it can affect our lives significantly and so far, we don’t have a resource to go to for healing. Trauma affects so much more than just STDs and teen birth rates. It affects relationships, domestic violence, crime and I am sure many other social issues.
I hope we can extend the conversation here in Alaska, as elsewhere. I have asked the president of the University of Alaska to consider adding research on ACE-derived trauma and perhaps to teach it as well. A concurrent resolution will be introduced in the Alaska State Legislature urging consideration of ACEs.
Knowledge is growing, but it hasn’t led to many policy actions yet. As more of you become knowledgeable about ACEs, start to insist that your leadership become more aware and start work on crafting policy to address it.
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