Can infertility be caused as a result of rape?

[tralalala]

Serious question. I don't really want to go deep down into detail. Thing is I know a girl who's really down as she was raped last year, and she is worried she may be infertile (because some prat got her thinking she could be.. Because "he heard many stories").


Question is, could it be? Could she be infertile because she was raped..? What I do know is she used the "day after" pill after the rape took place, and she also still gets her period every month...


So, what are the chances? Is it even possible?

[ilw]

yes it is possible, e.g. chlamydia is sexually transmitted, can cause infertility & can be fairly common.
As usual if you're asking for medical advice on the interweb you should really be talking to a doctor...

[Smith]

We aren't doctors, you should leave a serious question like this to the professionals. Best of luck to your friend :)

[tralalala]

Jeez.. It's just, like.. She doesn't deserve to become infertile because of some bastard asshole who had to rape her.. If she gets a positive result on this.. God knows what may happen to her.. What she may do to herself :dabs:

[ilw]

sounds like she needs counselling and medical help. There are bound to be things set up in your area which can advise on dealing with rape and you should either get her to contact them or contact them yourself.

[Skiz]

Unless there was some sort of internal damaging, I would have serious doubts about her being infertile.

Wrap. It. Up.

[tralalala]

@ilw: She doesn't want any help.. I've told her time and time again to tell her parents, but she wants to do it her own way, and judging by the way she lives her life, she seems to be doing perfectly fine (apart from flashbacks whenever she gets into any intimate situations. These flashbacks get rarer every time).

So.. I'm guessing that if she is found negative on the fertility test, I should just let it go and give her a break, and leave her to deal with it the way she seems fit to?

[saqib]

Serious question. I don't really want to go deep down into detail. Thing is I know a girl who's really down as she was raped last year, and she is worried she may be infertile (because some prat got her thinking she could be.. Because "he heard many stories").


Question is, could it be? Could she be infertile because she was raped..? What I do know is she used the "day after" pill after the rape took place, and she also still gets her period every month...


So, what are the chances? Is it even possible?

yes it is possible , but chances are very low

[Rat Faced]

Since it's pretty unlikely that a rapest stopped to put on a Condom, anything he had, she could now have.

Tell her to go and get tested for STD's, if she hasn't got one, then the Rape itself wont leave her infertile.. unless there was enough physical violence to cause internal damage. If people around her can't tell that it's happened, thats pretty unlikely.

...but she really should get councelling for it anyway, that type of thing can really fuck up a girls life :(

[tralalala]

Exactly.. To be honest... She's my girlfriend. Right now. She claims it's partly because of me that she manages to still look at herself in the mirror daily.. I mean, she's the cutest thing.. It's horrific to think she went through such a thing a mere 7 months ago..

[Quylui]

I'm gonna sound like a jerk here, but are you sure she was raped and she isn't just saying that after the fact?

And unless she contracted an STD, then yes, it is impossible to become infertile after a sexual encounter. What makes the rapist any different to you?

[cullen7282]

And unless she contracted an STD, then yes, it is impossible to become infertile after a sexual encounter.

It's not impossible. If the rape was extremely violent and she fought back a lot it's always possible it did internal damage.

Anyway, my advice to you is have her go to the health department for a pap. Her parents or anyone else doesn't have to know. She doesn't even necessarily have to tell them she was raped. If they see that there's a lot of damage up there they'll tell her. Also, she can get tested for STD's.

[Polarbear]

Exactly.. To be honest... She's my girlfriend. Right now. She claims it's partly because of me that she manages to still look at herself in the mirror daily.. I mean, she's the cutest thing.. It's horrific to think she went through such a thing a mere 7 months ago..

your girlfriend needs physical and psychological help. infertility shouldn't worry you at all at the moment.

there are experienced therapists who deal with rape victims all the time.

most survivors go on to develop a rape-related post traumatic stress disorder.

this is a serious issue and she may suffer from it for the rest of her life.

convince her to see a (female) doctor that is experienced with rape victims. she can do this anonymously whithout the knowledge of her parents.

even if you don't recognize anything, she will suffer if she doesn't get the help of an expert.

if you love her, make her see a doctor.

[tralalala]

She doesn't want to.. I've spoken to her a couple times about it (she always starts crying when we talk over it and it breaks my heart). I've told her there are people who deal with these kinds of things, and that I'd be willing to go along with her.. Be next to her when and if she decides to pick up the phone..

She says she's trying to just put it behind her, though I've tried to convince her it's not going to work. It will keep haunting her the rest of her life.


Problem is, it's her decision after all, and she currently doesn't wish to get any help. She sort of sees me as her "guardian angel" who's simply there for her all the time and who loves her so dearly.. :dabs:


@Quylui - She was definitely raped.

[Polarbear]

It will keep haunting her the rest of her life.


that's why seeing a professional is the only choice she has. don't push her, just keep trying.

that's all advice i can give.

there are also some web pages where you can find advice how to deal with the situation.

here's just some examples of many:

http://www.rapevictimadvocates.org/
http://www.justicewomen.com/help_special_rape.html

maybe they will help you to understand the seriousness of the situation better.

good luck to you and her.

[cullen7282]

Another suggestion, go to a bookstore and buy a book/workbook for adult survivors of rape. If she'll sit down and do it, it will help her realize she's not alone and she'll see that how she's feeling and thinking isn't unusual. Hopefully, she'll be more likely to get help then. Rape is a very lonely thing. You feel like no one else could ever understand what you're going through.

[Squeamous]

I think you should just leave this poor girl alone. If she has been raped she is entitled to deal with it in the way she sees fit. Not all people need to talk endlessly about themselves to a complete stranger to get over things like this. Sometimes talking about it just causes it to resurface and does more damage than good. Some people need privacy and time to deal with it themselves.

Health-wise she needs to get an STD test. They're painless and no more difficult than a smear test which she will have to start having soon anyway. I hope you're using condoms yourselves....you could be at risk until she's given the all-clear. Chlamydia takes quite a while to make a person infertile so providing she does this soon she shouldn't be at risk of becoming infertile. I'm assuming there was no physical trauma or she would have been seen by a doctor already. Good luck with it to both of you.

[S3v3N]

if she doesn't have any complaint " fever , abdominal pain ,painful or painless lesions vaginal discharge " , her period is regular .. then i would doubt any physical damage to her !
however some STDs like chlamydia can be asymptomatic , and can result in infertility due to inflammatory induced closer of fallopian tubes... and the only way to get definitive diagnosis is by positive laboratory identification "cell culture".
so i highly recommend that she visit a gynecologist in the near future.

[1000possibleclaws]

i think for YOUR sake she should get tested for std's. god knows what the rapist had, and unless you actually wrap your shit with your gf, you could get it too