Sexual violence

Being exposed to sexual content or acts as a child

Being shown pornography, sexual acts, or sexual content as a child. Being used to produce sexual content. Exposure that was deliberate and that you did not choose.

Exposure a child did not choose is a violation even when nobody touched you. It took something that should have arrived slowly and on your own terms, and forced it early and wrong. Confusion, shame, or difficulty untangling what it did to you are common and reasonable. It was done to you. That is the whole story of whose fault it was.

What can follow an experience like this

No two people carry the same experience the same way. These are some of the effects that people with this experience often describe. Having some of them, all of them, or none of them says nothing about how real what happened to you was.

Shame Not guilt about something you did. Intrusive sexual thoughts Sexual thoughts, images, or responses that you do not want and cannot stop. Trust issues Trust that was broken, repeatedly, by people who were supposed to be safe. Anxiety The background hum of dread that is always there. Identity disturbance Not being able to answer simple questions about yourself. Depersonalization Not feeling at home in your own body. Avoidant attachment The wall that goes up when someone tries to get close. Sexual dysfunction Trauma changes the body's relationship with physical intimacy.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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