Sexual violence

Having sexual images of you shared without your consent

Sexual images or videos of you being shared, distributed, or threatened to be shared without your consent. Whether by a former partner, a stranger, or anyone else.

Having intimate images taken or shared without consent is a violation that feels borderless, because you cannot know who has seen them or when they might surface. The powerlessness of that is its own trauma. None of it transfers any shame to you. The exposure was the act of the person who shared them, and the disgrace is entirely theirs.

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.

Trust issues Trust that was broken, repeatedly, by people who were supposed to be safe. Depression Not just sadness. Shame Not guilt about something you did. Anxiety The background hum of dread that is always there. Social withdrawal A retreat inward that can feel like protection, and often is. PTSD 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. Hypervigilance The nervous system that learned to scan for danger all the time. Identity disturbance Not being able to answer simple questions about yourself.

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.

Find a meeting Join the fellowship

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