Sexual Abuse: Are You a Victim or a Survivor?
Healing and moving on after you have been sexually assaulted is difficult. During the sexual abuse, we are all victims. After the abuse, you can choose to continue being a victim, or you can choose to become a survivor.
Sexual Abuse: Are You a Victim?
If you blame everything that goes wrong in your life on the fact that you were sexually abused, then you are continuing to be a victim.
If the fact that you were abused leads you to drugs and alcohol in order to mask the pain, then you are continuing to be a victim.
If you allow the sexual abuse to make you hate the thought of ever having sex again, then you are continuing to be a victim.
If you start believing that the only way to feel loved is by having sex, then you are continuing to be a victim.
If you blame yourself for what happened, then you are continuing to be a victim.
Sexual Abuse: Are You a Survivor?
Being a survivor does not mean that you forget what happened. You will never forget! When you are sexually assaulted, it changes who you are forever. The recovery process is different for everyone. Some people may be able to deal with it on their own, while others may require counseling or medication to get past it. But everyone needs to face what happened and deal with it in order to heal.
None of us can change what happened in the past. But we can control what happens today, tomorrow, or next week. Take the steps that you need to in order to heal. Become a survivor! You are strong and you are in control of your life!
Another statistic from RAINN is that 60% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police. If you are currently being sexually abused, please report it. You are not only taking the steps to protect yourself, but you will be protecting others from being abused by this sexual predator.
I was a victim of sexual abuse. Today I am a Survivor!
Sources:
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), Statistics
Published by Stacy Hensley
Stacy is a SAHM of 3 wonderful kids. 14 yr old twins (boy and girl) and a 7 yr old daughter. She writes about many different subjects, but she is often led to write about subjects that are important in her... View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentI am a conquer over incest as a child, physical abuse, phycological abuse & mental abuse. I fought this by telling myself I am somebody & I will never let anybody abuse me ever again, but it took me years to get over it.
I wrote a book all about my abuse as a child and in the church.
The more light we bring to this subject, the more help we offer future survivors. Thank you.
This is a wonderful article Stacy.
Thanks for sharing this, Stacy. I, too, have overcome this, I know I am not a victim, but I don't necessarily consider myself a survivor, either. I think it's more like I didn't let him win.
Nice one!
excellent article-
Your victim and survivor lists are spot on! Nice job on this one!