abuse

The last installment in a series on the physical effects of sexual trauma. To conclude the series, we’re talking about talking: namely, how to talk with sexual partners about any physical effects that you have experienced as a survivor of sexual trauma.

Hello Rose, You’ve come to the right place for advice. You deserve love and care in your life, and I’m sorry someone broke your trust and abused you as a child. I hope that as an adult, you have lots of strong friends and supporters around you, not just in the context of going to the doctor, but for…

Want to try and seek some closure through a discussion with an abuser or assailant? Here’s how to do it as safely as possible.

My parents’ relationship made me deeply insecure. Insecure about the way I looked, insecure about my future prospects, and mostly insecure in my romantic relationships.

There’s a lot to unpack with sexual choking. Here’s some science, including some real dangers, and some guidance, to help anyone make informed decisions to ensure safer, healthy, consensual and mutually-enjoyable experiences.

My body language announces my distrust of people. This obviously makes it tremendously hard to start new relationships.

There was a text from him: “Sorry about last night.” There were calls. Then more texts: “Babe are you ok?” When I responded: “You raped me,” he stopped reaching out.

For those of us who struggle with social cues due to a history of trauma, autism, lack of socialization, or other factors, learning to identify potential signs of sexual coercion or impending sexual violence can be empowering.

In this third installment of this series, we hear from a survivor who developed substantial physical concerns after her trauma experiences. Kayla* is a survivor of multiple episodes of sexual trauma, and she has undergone extensive care for her post-traumatic symptoms.

Intellectually, I understand that success and safety do not invalidate struggle. I understand that I will feel the impacts of sexual violence regardless of how well I do in school or how much better life gets for me. But because a majority of people in my life only see the “successful” parts and not the difficult parts, and because so often people’s expectations of survivors stand counter to this, many people find it harder to believe that I’ve even experienced sexual violence. And that can make it harder for me and other survivors to emotionally feel and believe what we intellectually understand: our success does not invalidate our struggle.