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I was at...
Home
Work
School / University
Bar / Restaurant
Military
Social Event
On a Trip
Other
The offender was a...
Stranger
Acquaintance
Non-Romantic Friend
Casual / First Date
Romantic Partner
Family Member
Authority Figure
I identify as...
Asian
Black / African
Hispanic / Latino
Indigenous / Native American
Multiracial
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
White
My sexual orientation is...
LGBTQ+
Straight
Lesbian / Gay
Bisexual
Pansexual
Queer
I identify as...
Man
Woman
Transgender
Non-binary
Gender-fluid
I was...
A Child
A Teenager
A Young Adult
An Adult
A Senior
On this page are stories shared by survivors that highlight hope but can also be hard to read. A grounding activity can help you to feel calm and make it easier to read these stories. Do you want to try one of our grounding activities?
Unfortunately, people will not always support you. It's key to develop your own values and cut them off. Staying silent is still being complacent. It hurts like hell but in the long run, you'll cherish your close circle.
You are never alone in this fight. You are here today, reading this and I am so proud that you've made it this far. There are going to be dark days ahead and moments when the world falls apart but the strength you have to be here today is the same strength you will have to be here tomorrow.
Yoga saved my life during the two years I spent with my former abuser. He would grab me by my throat and bite me with his false teeth, he had them young. He held me with those teeth in such a way that he knew I would be still in between yelling in my face, due to not wanting to get my face ripped or cut into. The bruises went away quickly and I prayed there would never be a
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Healing means peace. Healing means acceptance. Healing means you don't have to prove yourself in order to be loved.
I feel so alone! I'm a mom of adult girls, a director in my organization, A wife.... a victim,,, how at my age (37) could this happen?? A few drinks at a charitable event, I fell unconscious and was sexually assaulted! I feel, embarrassed, ashamed, sad and mostly.. alone.
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hope is totally possible, i was not a believer in hope but finally i changed my mindset to what has happened and took control if my recovery healing. hope hope hope its where you least expect it, it starts with you!!!
To male survivors: You are still a man! and tbh since seeking help for my trauma and being more open about it makes me feel more of a man.
“You are not alone. It was not your fault. It is possible to heal. It is not too late.”
When you've been sexually abused by a pedophile, it creates issues and experiences that, in recovery, are very difficult for non-abuse survivors to understand. Even 45 years after the abuse ended (as in my case), you still respond to stress and certain circumstances that are just not relatable to others who have not been through the same mess.
I was sexually assaulted by a man, a former friend, a former acquaintance. In his parkside apartment in City... He proceeded to torment me with litigation abuse for two years after the sexual violence ended.
cocsa
I’m barely 18 and I recently realized that i was sexually abused and assaulted well over 20+ times. (this story is just abt the cocsa)
It’s hard. Really hard.
I don’t necessarily feel dirty. I just feel used and mourn for my younger self.
The first time it happened i was 4/5, i had just moved to a new village and befriended the neighbors kid. She was a little over a year older than me. Stronger and more dominant than me. But we were good friends. Untill she told me to play doctor with her. At first i thought it was cool, fun, excitin...
I have four children, they are all adults now. I fell pregnant at 21 and my father insisted we got married. The first slap he gave me was on our wedding night, and him saying, what the fuck did I get married for. After two sons were born he beat me up whilst pregnant with our daughter, and then as I lay injured upstairs he came in the bedroom and forced himself on me. My 17 years with this brute have affected me all my life. He slept around and had zero respect for me and also shouted at the children. We were all scared of him, but in the end...
Hello, my name is Survivor. When I was 14 years old I was sexually assaulted by a 23 year old man. I went on into my teenage years not knowing how to work through it, but sought out male attention through my trauma and also my childhood of not feeling close or loved by a main male figure in my life. My very first relationship was with a narcissist who was emotionally abusive. After 2 years I broke up with this person, but my hurt and trauma piled up. In my 20’s I was with another narcissist in a long term relationship and had a child with....
With love and support you can lead a happy life once again whether you receive justice or not. It takes time but there is hope.
I was 15. I smoked marijuana occasionally (as I was in my teen angst phase). I had a boy bestfriend and was also in a relationship, not necessarily a healthy one at all but I was in one. One night I felt depressed due to being stood up for a date to the lake I was supposed to have that day. Normally I smoke when I felt down and I felt overwhelmingly down that night; so I smoked a bit too much accidentally. I eventually started greening out and tripping very badly so I messaged my boy bestfriend to calm me down (my bf at the time had went to sl...
Just remember that you are not alone. No matter how big our small your situation may be, there will always be people here to support you. You are loved. You matter.
Tears fall from my face when I have flashbacks. The amount of times I’ve ran to the washroom and cried remembering those nights. Frozen in fear, unable to move. Feeling his hands on my skin. And hearing his voice as he tries to make sure I’m not awake. The excuses I’ve heard and the disbelief I’ve been through, that I still go through. Most dont believe my story, they believe his because “how could he do that?” They act like he never added the second part of his side; he admitted to touching me without consent. People don’t realize that...
You are not alone; you are a survivor.
Hebrew 10:17-18 You are not partially forgiven. You are perfectly forgiven.
Revelation 21:4, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
When I was six( possibly younger) there was this neighbor that often came to our house together with his parents. The adults always stayed in the living room and my siblings, he and I went to another room where we would play this game witch involved running so I would get tired and lay on the bed, he would lay right next to me at and ask things like " Are you tired? I can give you a massage" I would always refuse and be super uncomfortable but he persisted. I also remember laying on his arm and him laying on my shoulder and to this day I can't...
I've come to terms with the truth of my past and learned not to be ashamed of how long it's taken me to deal with it. I've grieved the years lost and hope for the years to come. I know my life has been on hold but little by little I find my voice and my strength. And I find compassion for the times when it feels like I'm still facing backward. Bit by bit, stone by stone I'm recognizing my wholeness.
You are worth forgiving. You are enough. You are strong. You are beautiful. This does not define who you are it is only the experience you've learned valuable lessons from.
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Whenever I feel hopeless and feel as if I will never feel better or I won't recover from this experience, I listen to the Song "Always look on the bright side of Life" from "Monty Pythons Life of Brian". I don't know if it will help others, but that is what helps me and gives me back my happiness
just when i think i'm healing, i feel like i’m suffocating. like the whole world around me is collapsing in on itself and i’m in the centre of it all. and just as i finally get to take a breath, it collapses further and crushes me until i can’t take the weight and the pressure anymore. i can't escape my memories, can't escape my body. i'm trapped.
Dear reader, the following story contains language of self-harm that some may find triggering or discomforting.
The only way I've been able to make some process of healing is by sharing my story and making my voice heard. I hope that others can heal just like I am trying to.
Hey, from one survivor to another, I don't know who you are, or what you've been through, but I hope this will help.
My joy and life were stolen from me at a young age, and it was not my choice. But now that I am older, I am learning to take my life back. I share my story, I take my mind of the memories through pottery.
1 new update
When I was 20 I was in college and I agreed to live with someone I knew name name for the summer while I worked a summer job. name had a number of disquieting habits that always kind of bothered me. He would tend to get into my personal bubble not my personal space too often. He also had a habit of seeming to get lost in the middle of the night going back to his bedroom from the bathroom. One night name opened my door and was standing in my room when I woke up and I said what's going on name? He said oh I must've gotten lost or...
Dear reader, the following story contains language of self-harm that some may find triggering or discomforting.
Often time when something bad happens to us are minds have a way of turning on us. Making us believe that what we experienced was are fault. When in fact it was out of our control. I knew what happened to me was not my fault yet I blamed myself. This response is common and I'm here to tell you, it wasn't your fault.
when i was 10 there was this older boy i really liked and we used to hang out in his basement and play video games and i decided i wanted to be his girlfriend. i tried to flirt with him and told him i liked him and he would always laugh and change the subject but i had hope. then one time he asked to kiss me and i was elated and agreed. so we kissed. and this happened a few times before he said he wanted to touch my chest and i wasn't sure about it but i wanted him to like me so i agreed. then he wanted to see me naked. and i told him that in...
I think anyone who can overcome this kind of trauma is amazing.
Hello there. My name is Survivor. I’m 25 and live in California. Before I was get started, on my story, I want to add that I’m a disabled adult with minor Cerebral Palsy. It was October 2014 and I was in my second month of being 18. This was before I came out as Transgender. One night, my mom left for work. After that, her boyfriend and I decided to watch a program on tv. It was, I believe, “South Park.” All of a sudden, I felt a warm sensation inside my underwear and began feeling “wet” down there. I knew what was happening but hid my “m...
Have trust in yourself and believe in yourself because if I’m getting through it i know you can too❤️🩹
I KNOW that right now there is someone who needs to hear this story (please see questions below).
YOU wanted him. He was the most handsome boy in the neighbourhood and every girl wanted him - BUT - he raped you.
It has taken 27 years for me to acknowledge the tipping point of my decent into sexual promiscuity and substance abuse. I always blamed myself for the choice to be in that room with him - I asked for it. Right? Wrong.
I never liked yoga. It was hard, it hurt, and I especially hated the woman who forced me to do it.
Ah, stepmothers. As if my own father wasn’t shitty enough. As if he hadn’t already tried to kill me when I was 7. As if he hadn’t done enough to traumatise me, he goes ahead and marries her.
I was waiting at a city bus stop. I saw a man across the street, he was very dirty and obviously not in his right mind. I tried to avoid eye contact but he already saw me. He crossed the street and started shouting at me. Asking for my name and where I lived. I tried to hide in a convenience store until he left. My phone was on 5 percent so I couldn’t call anyone to help me. At one point I thought he had left so I walked back out. He was actually hiding behind a sign and came back out once he saw I had come back. I ran back inside the store....
Dear guy,
I still remember the night I told people that I had a “crush on my best guy friend”. I was out with friends downtown to see the Christmas tree. In my attention seeking way I announced that I had a HUGE crush on the tall curly haired boy who happened to be one of my best guy friends. As teenage girls do when someone shares their crush, they swooned over photos of you and giggled as I relayed your best qualities. Truth be told, it wasn’t you. You weren’t the special guy who caught my heart. That was a point in my life where I was s...
I remember feeling like I would never recover. That no one would understand me. That no one would listen and if they did nothing would change. My hope was my voice. I shut it out for so long but, as soon as I started opening up and seeking help my healing began. Hope is knowing your future is bigger brighter than what your abuser has stolen. I found hope with other survivors because they carried a weight I also did but have grown beautiful things from it.
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