HELPING SURVIVORS
Helping Survivors is an organization designed to help individuals who have experienced sexual assault and abuse. The resources we provide are intended for individuals who have experienced sexual assault or abuse who are seeking support or for those who are seeking to learn about how to best help survivors of sexual violence. Child Sex Abuse - helpingsurvivors.org/child-sexual-abuse/
THORN
Defending children from sexual abuse with information, fighting for change in the legal realm, creating a safer internet, and helping law enforcement locate and rescue victims. - thorn.org/
nsvrc
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center is a great source for statistics and ways to get involved in the fight against predators.
What were you wearing?
A fashion exhibit by sexual assault survivors sharing their attire and story during the time of their attack.
When I hear someone start talking about sexual assault, I cringe. I think that may be a typical response from the majority; but, we each have our own reasons.
Some struggle to understand the depth of what sexual assault can do to a person. Some struggle to understand how it can be so prevalent. Many of us struggle to deal with what was done to us; especially given the stigma that surrounds it.
I often wonder why being the victim of any other crime is socially acceptable when sexual assault is not.
What I mean by that is that when my house gets robbed, or my car broken into, I’m encouraged to talk about it and no one questions where the perpetrator’s minds was, or if I did something to contribute to it. The times I was physically assaulted with no sexual context no one has ever asked me what I did to provoke the attack.
But when I talk about the sexual abuse I’ve gone through - when I even mention it - people shift uncomfortably. They don’t know how to respond. Some ask where I was, what was I doing, “what were you wearing….”
“Are you sure you didn’t do something to make the person think it was ok?”
I said no and that should have been the end of it. I said I didn’t want to and it should have stopped there. Clothing, situation, relationship be damned. I said no. That should have been the end of the story.
It makes it harder to heal when society can’t accept that what happened wasn’t your fault. It makes it harder for us to accept the horror of what happened when we are pressured to feel we have to hide it for the comfortability of those around us.
It’s time to end the stigma. It’s time to address the heinousness of the nightmare that falls under sexual assault.
Rape, molestation, human trafficking, sodomy is horrendous. There’s no other way to say it. It’s a living nightmare that continues to assault for decades. It affects our relationships, friendships, social interactions and the way we see ourselves.
It’s horrifying and it’s time to face the reality of how commonplace these acts are.
When I hear the term sexual assault, I cringe because it’s a piece of the past I don’t want to feel again. I cringe because I know how much work we still need to do to make it unheard of instead of normal for most women. I cringe because I know men experience sexual assault as well, and if female can’t be heard, I can only imagine how silenced a male’s voice becomes as its victim.
There are many who give their energy to this fight; some to keep the victims going after the fact, and some to stop the attacks before they happen. Some go into the depths to pull those trapped in this world out.
This page is dedicated to helping connect people with those organizations.
We can fight predators and win. Never give up.