Hello, and I hope I can help you today. Many women who have had negative associations with sexual experiences have difficulty with repeating those experiences in a positive context. In order to women for women to feel sexual pleasure from vaginal penetration, there needs to be sufficient arousal beforehand. Your vagina become soft and lubricated when you are aroused, however if subconscious fears or other negative associations take place from touching and that area, some women have involuntary muscle spasms in the vagina which is called vaginismus. Vaginismus is a physical and psychological condition that is commonly associated with sexual trauma. It is something that can be treated, usually with a combination of psychotherapy regarding your sexual assault history combined with working with a gynecologist on techniques for relaxing your vaginal muscles. It can be overcome with time and patience. In the meantime, if penetration is painful, there is no reason that touching in other ways can provide a satisfying sexual experience for you and your partner. When the time is right and you ve addressed some of these psychological issues, you may not experience as much pain with consensual vaginal penetration. I hope that I was able to adequately answer your question today, and that this information was helpful. Best wishes, Dr. Brown