Women survivors may have difficulty with vaginal penetration because of two sexual problems.
Vaginismus is a reflexive tightening of the muscles in the outer third of the vagina when penetration is attempted. Women with this condition may have difficulty with intercourse as well as with insertion of a finger, dildo, or medical instrument.
Dyspareunia, or painful intercourse, is another dysfunction that can make intercourse difficult. In this condition, a woman experiences pain as burning, cramping, or sharpness that begins sometime during intercourse itself. Both vaginismus and dyspareunia can result from associating fear and pain of past sexual abuse with present intercourse. In some cases painful intercourse may be directly related to actual physical damage to vaginal tissues, nerves, and internal organs done during brutal sexual assault. Read the rest of this entry »
