SEXUAL ASSAULT –

Sexual Assault –

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC):

• 1 in 5 women has experienced complete or attempted rape
• 4 out of 5 women have experienced some form of sexual harassment and/or assault

These numbers are staggering. Unfortunately, they are also probably lower than the actual numbers. A lot of women do not report being sexually assaulted or admit it for different reasons.

I am one of the “4 out of 5” who was sexually assaulted and I think that I was very close to being one of the “1 in 5” but I got lucky. I was around 18 years old. I was with someone I should not have been with in a place I should not have been. That is no excuse for him sexually assaulting me. I believe that the only reason that I was not raped is because I was tall and he was not and I was much stronger than I looked. I remember fighting him as he was trying to drag me into the alley (he eventually won that battle). I remember trying to figure out how to get safely into my home without him following me in. Until recently, I only remembered one other detail which my brain would not allow me to contemplate any further and I now know why.

For the first time in my life, I am with someone who I trust completely, without hesitation. I thought that I had that before in my life, but somewhere deep inside I knew that I did not. With this mental safety comes freedom and I remembered more details about my sexual assault. I did not expect to ever remember this traumatic experience and I was shocked, to say the least. It took me days to accept and process everything that came back to me. I am still working on myself and my mental well-being and this consciousness has opened up other windows to look at myself, where I am, who I am, and where I am going. I am talking about what I remembered with those I trust in order to get it out and work it out.

I am continually amazed by the human mind, what it is capable of, how it protects us, feeds us, and keeps us safe (sane?).

Never stop growing!