title: Silent Survivors.
abstract: Early in my medical training, I cared for a patient who survived a brutal sexual assault necessitating ICU level care. Months later, I was raped. This essay is a reflection on my experience as a survivor of sexual violence and as a provider for patients whose wounds from these traumas have flourished in atmospheres of shame and stigma. In this essay, I further explore how physicians and other health care providers can play a central role in restoring the health of individuals who silently suffer after these unspeakable events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of California, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California evolkmann@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Volkmann
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: primary care; sexual violence