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Relationships after Sexual Violence
Experiences of sexual violence can cause significant trauma as well as short and long-term physical, emotional and sexual wellbeing issues. It can be a significant experience which can alter your view of the world, making it difficult to trust others, including yourself, or relate to people in the way you used to. Your confidence and self-esteem may have been impacted by your experience, and it can make you feel uncomfortable with any form of physical or emotional contact. You may find your relationships with other people, including your friends, intimate partner, children and wider family, have also been impacted by your experience. You may wish to withdraw yourself from social situations, isolate yourself from those who care about you or struggle to form new connections with others. Experiences of sexual violence can also affect how you feel about sex and intimacy. This does not mean you are damaged or broken, it means your brain and body have been impacted by significant trauma, and all these impacts are both normal and common responses to an experience of sexual violence.
Violence Is the End; Misogyny Grows in Stages.
Sexual violence is a serious part of a bigger issue called gender-based violence (GBV). This includes all kinds of harmful behaviour aimed at someone because of their gender, like physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Although it can happen to anyone, it’s a problem that mainly affects women and girls.
It’s often misunderstood or brushed off in casual conversations. How many times have you heard someone say, “How could that happen?” “It came out of nowhere.” “He seemed like a normal guy.” when hearing about a violent incident?
And why do those reactions keep happening?
[TW: Mentions of sexual, & physical violence, femicide, victim-blaming]
[Read Time: 7 - 10mins]
Understanding Nightmares, Night Terrors, & Sleep Problems
Our Support Worker, Rhiannon, has pulled together this blog post on nightmares, night terrors, and sleep problems. In this post she explains the difference between nightmares, and night terrors, how they may impact you, and self-care tips for sleep.
[Read Time: 4-5 mins]Understanding Trauma & Triggers
Our Support Worker, Rhiannon, has pulled together this blog post on trauma and triggers. Triggers are a common occurrence for survivors of trauma, and survivors of sexual trauma are no different. In this post she explains what triggers are, how they may effect survivors of sexual violence, and self-care tips for those experiencing triggers.
[Read time: 6-8 mins]How To Calm Your Mind With The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise
The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise can be a really useful tool to keep in your back pocket for when you feel anxious, unsafe, or are having a flashback. Read more to find out how to do it.
[Read time: 1-2 mins]
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