Sexual violence

Being sexually abused as a child by someone outside your family

Sexual abuse during childhood by a teacher, coach, religious leader, neighbor, family friend, or anyone else who was not family. Often someone who was trusted by the adults around you.

If some version of this is part of your story, you already know that the hardest part is rarely the memory itself. It is carrying it in a world that mostly does not want to hear about it. This fellowship exists so you do not have to carry it alone, and so you never have to explain it to someone who has no idea what it means.

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.

Complex or ongoing trauma and its effects When trauma happened repeatedly, over a long time, or at the hands of people who were supposed to care for you, the effects go deeper than a single event. Not knowing who you are, or experiencing multiple parts or identities A self that shifts depending on who you are with. Dissociation or feeling detached from yourself Dissociation is what the nervous system does when what is happening is too much to stay present for. Feeling disconnected from your body Not feeling at home in your own body. Problems with authority or people in power The original experiences with authority figures, parents, teachers, institutions, abusers, shaping the automatic response to anyone who holds power. Thoughts about not wanting to be here Thoughts about not existing anymore. Self-harm Self harm is not about wanting to die. Flashbacks and reliving what happened After certain experiences, the brain can get stuck, replaying what happened through flashbacks, nightmares, or sudden intense reactions to things that remind you of it.

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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