After being raped, one young woman had to plead with strangers on the internet for help. Describing the assault she had been victim to, she wrote: "The silent cries as he took me. The mere minutes that felt like endless hours. The need to shut myself out for weeks. The months that took me in order for me to trust another man. I was, I am, never the same again." The attack had left her feeling worthless, dirty and alone.
But, contrary to what you might initially think, she wasn't actually asking for help with her emotional state. Instead, she was left begging for money after being overrun by medical bills: "What I am asking is donations; whether it be small or big, to help afford my rape kit and medical bills," she continued. "I have no insurance. And I am struggling trying to keep my life together with what little dignity I have left. I am ashamed. I feel guilty. And broken."
Unfortunately, her case is not rare. Being raped in the United States comes with a price tag. In reality, she is one of the hundreds of thousands of women and men in the United States that have been forced to pay the price not only once, but many times over after being slammed with astronomical medical bills. Amidst the sheer emotional trauma of being raped, victims must take themselves to the hospital, put themselves through a horrific examination, and afterwards be prepared to pay a financial cost for being violated in one of the worst ways possible.
In 2005, the federal Violence Against Women Act prohibited sexual assault survivors from being billed for the forensic collection of evidence. Campaigners rejoiced. Finally, sexual assault victims were being helped and not ignored - but it soon came to light that their actions were not nearly enough. Researchers for a 2017 American Journal of Public Health study estimated that victims still pay $950, on average, for the cost of medical services after being assaulted, with insurance providers paying about $5,789.
Using the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan database, researchers analyzed the hospital bills of privately insured women from 2013 and identified 1,355 incidents where patients were charged for receiving care in the emergency room for rape. In total, insurance providers and victims paid more than $9 million that year for related medical services. The average individual rape-related cost was $6,737, of which most was covered by insurance, but victims were left out of pocket by $948 on average.
Their research exemplifies the fact that the law repeatedly underestimates the cost of being raped. Reportedly, the VAWA requires that the post-rape exam is paid for, which covers the assessment of physical trauma, determination of penetration or force, a patient interview and the collection of evidence. But evidence proves that sexual assault victims require much more than the law is willing to provide for them.
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A 2012 study by AEquitas, an organisation that provides training and technical assistance to prosecutors in sexual assault cases, found that 33 states cover specific "collateral" services to victim care, 15 states will pay for tests for sexually transmitted infections, 15 states cover medications prescribed during the forensic exam, 10 states pay for emergency room and hospital fees, 13 states cover the cost of a pregnancy test, six will pay for emergency contraception and at least two will pay for a victim's counselling related to the sexual assault. However, only five states will pay for treatment of injuries caused by the attack, with just four states providing payment for reasonable medical care related to the assault and certain states allowing the victim's insurance to be billed for uncovered medical expenses.
A woman who had been raped and afterwards received a bill from the hospital for the cost of her rape kit and forensic exam spoke to Human Rights Watch about the situation a few years ago. Although she had eventually been able to get her state's victim compensation board to pay the hospital, she claimed to have received multiple notices from the hospital's bill collector, reminding her of her debt: "I could not believe this was happening to me, after all this," she told them. "It got resolved, thank God, but not before I started to worry that my inability to come up with the money to pay the hospital would jeopardize my case. They tell me it wouldn't have, but it was so much worry that I didn't need."
However, it's not only medical costs that are forced on victims. In addition to medical care (including HIV prevention, anti-anxiety medication and emergency contraception), researchers have cited lost future earnings, property damage and losses, quality of life losses, and costs for public programs as extra fees that are often compulsory for the victim. Their research highlights the fact that the emotional cost of being raped can last a lifetime with many women and men having to take time off work and receive therapy in the aftermath.
A 2010 study by UltraViolent, a women's advocacy group, estimated that victims have to pay up a startling $151,423 as a result of being assaulted in the worst way possible. $151,423. Let that sink in. That's akin to some people's college educations. In some places, it's the same amount as buying a house, or a car. That amount of money can change your life - and for these victims it did, but not in the way it should have done.
“With other violent crimes, victims are not responsible for paying for the damage that results from the crime,” stated Ashley Tennessee of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “Many people know sexual assault is an issue, but they’re often unaware that victims have to pay for associated medical charges. This financial burden adds to the emotional burden of sexual assault. This is an area that society has missed, and we have a moral right to help victims.”
With the rise of the #MeToo movement and the
Harvey Weinstein scandal giving sexual assault victims the confidence to speak out about what they've gone through, it seems the perfect time to properly broach the subject of the true cost of rape. Although we as a society appear to be making some effort to understand the emotional burden of rape, we must remember the overall price of being sexually assaulted is even higher than most would imagine.
