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Sexual Assault Right after. did you tell anyone?

  • Post starter Post starter Deleted member 37474
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Disclosure hasn't exactly gone well for me. I don't remember large chunks for my childhood, and am still not entire sure what happened. Something triggered (I guess it was a repressed memory?) this past March. My best friend and my supervisor (who is also a friend) at work knew something was up, but I wouldn't tell them anything. 3 weeks later, I just wanted to die, I wouldn'tve followed through with it, but I wished to die. I finally wrote about being sexually assulted and showed my supervisor. She dragged me to the school health center, where many strangers were in my face peppering me with questions and my supervisor left me there because she had to work (I get that it was a busy week and that she did have to leave, but it doesn't mean it didn't hurt).

I ended up talking to a social worker who was completely incompitent. She was telling me that I wasn't going to class and that I wasn't eating to try to hurt myself (I was going to class and it was hard to eat because my anxiety was so high and I was so naucious). She basically said I had to give her a reason to not call my parents and kept asking why I haddn't killed myself. I still don't know what she knew or not. She didn't know about the dissociation (which a different school social worker had identified). I wouldn't admit that I was suicidal because they would've sent me to the hospital, so they finally let me go. I went back to work and was sort of ok for a while. My supervisor was doing errands all day, so I didn't see her.

About an hour before I had to leave, the health center called and said I had an appointment with the same social worker again and they'd cancelled a previous appointment with another one, who I thought was way better. I was so flustered and overwhelmed I agreed, but when I tried to talk to my supervisor, she basically said suck it up and deal with it. About an hour later, I dissociated under a table. (A friend heloed me piece this part together). A different supervisor was getting in my face saying I had to get up or he'd call campus safety if I didn't. When my friend saw, they gave me my grounding tools and I was fine. So I got up to leave, my supervisor ran up to stop me since he was on the phone with public safety, then they pulled up in front of the building and I completely fell apart sobbing.

I knew they couldn't help me. I ended up in an office with a public safety officer, and the friend who had followed me out to the lobby (they didn't know what was going on, but they remained calm and were the one familiar and helpful person all day). The officer kept asking what I needed and I tried to explain that I just dissociated, but I was fine (which at this point was mostly true I haddn't panicked until they showed health center was closed but they made me talk to me dean, who I'd only met once before, and she was completely unhelpful (and later pressured me to disclose much more than I was comfortable doing especially since she has no legal confidentiality). They finally let me go after a while.

The whole incident has made it so much harder to trust anyone now. I am not good at advocating for myself especially in situations where the people helping are not equipped to help. I tried to tell my best friend what happened, but I couldn't tell her what started the whole thing, so it was hard to feel like she understood. It was really hard to go back to work afterwards, and my relationship with my supervisor has never really been the same.
 
I was living in a house with few roomates for a summer job in foreign country. I told the only other person in the house at the time right after(also a guy) while still in shock. They were really good friends. That guy gave me a long speech about how I was flirting and practically I was the one responsible. I was still in shock and trembling and he was looking at me like I was so low. Eventually the guy that assaulted me told all the other people living in the house that I practically seduced him. But I was there for a job and running out of money and had no one to help, so I pushed it all down until the summer ends and I can go home.
It all got so bad that I was just living to go home, and of course when I got home I was far from okay.
I didn't tell anyone until year and a half later, and until I had gotten so self-destructive that I had to tell someone and do something. I honestly wish I had told sooner. Despite of the few really stupid and hurtful reactions, there were heaps more supportive ones and that was really helpful.
 
Yep... I told someone every time except when it was my own husband (the 1st) because it was the early 80's and they didn't do much back then for domestic stuff (and they had plenty of opportunity for me cuz there were calls), sometimes not right after but within a couple days. By then I had ample fact based evidence that my parents, the military, law enforcement weren't gonna help me. It was really hard.
 
there was no safe person to tell and I felt as if it were all my fault and I was the ruined one at fourteen years old. I never talked about what was going on in my home ever, not even to the few people that were adults who could have helped me. I did not trust anyone either.
 
About 25 yesterday ago my bff called me. I knew something was wrong. She told me. Her and I went to the police that day. They knew this guy. Was on parole for the same thing.

She was so brave. She went into the courtroom told her story. Her and I never took our eyes off each other. The judge said with all the details she had he obviously did it. Sent him back where he belonged. Prison.

While waiting for his sentencing she received a letter that he died. She contacted the court to see how he died. They said he "had a heart attack and fell out of bed".

While he was in his girlfriend was threatening her and her family. She ended up doing a little time too.

She's still my bff. It's been a bumpy road. But she's raised 2 beautiful children is married to a gentle giant. And when her and I get together we laugh like school girls again. Love her bunches.

I wish all of your stories ended like hers.
Sending peace and strength to all of you! XO
 
The first person I told when I was trying to get help was my aunt (1 month after it happened), despite at the time being 23 him being my first boyfriend , had never kissed anyone which she knew and the fact that I am a christian who believes in the whole no sex before marriage thing (though no judgement for those who do) her words to me were i led him on, it was a huge accusation was I sure it happened, if i didnt want it to happen i needed to fight harder. Next person I told was my best friend of 21 years who told me that i was naive to believe I could be in a relationship and only do kissing , at this point I had only been in the relationship 3 weeks. She said that i set boundaries and he pushed them however as I was in a relationship it wasnt an assault. The final time I tried to get help was with my life-group leader (The event occurred within the church , however I have never said his name so its always been an unknown) she told me he was just doing it to help me and i must have misunderstood the situation.

I eventually got help , when I was well beyond breaking point and a lecturer saw me visibly decline throughout the semester, she believed me and was able to help me get back on track , see the right people , get on the right meds, get an accurate diagnosis of PTSD and supported me whilst I was on the waiting list to see a clinical psychologist.
 
I'm 33 and I just recently told my mom and gramma about my own abuse. I blocked it out for so long that it came back with a vengeance. They are supportive which I'm grateful for. But I don't have any plans of telling anyone else besides my care team.
 
Nah. The world has been utterly unresponsive and had showed me how little care there was for me so no.

Plus I had been raised to think that I was a complete piece of crap so I must have deserved it and been utterly at fault for it happening. So every time, I have suffered in silence.

Recently, I've told my partner (yes, I finally have caring people in my life, it took til 37 to meet my guy, I was very close to giving up when I met him) some of the stuff, and I've told my psychologist some too. I'm now 44.
 
Nope. I was in the military and would have been considered culpable because when he knocked on my door I answered it. that meant I "let" him onto my room, which was against the rules. Everything that happened next was considered my fault. It's just the way it was. The gal who lived above me on the second floor broke her leg jumping out her window to get away from the guy who was attacking her and she was brought up on charges of "damaging government property." Yea, that was a thing. No charges for him. There never are.

Plus he made sure I knew he would kill me if I told anyone. Something civilians never understand is that it happens and then you get up and go back to work - where you sit right next to the person who attacked you. No one gives a shit that you are injured or traumatized. It's the price you pay for serving your country.
 
I tried my best to describe what was going on to my mom, Im not sure how old i was but it was going on at the time. Her response was that she would talk to him, i was never sure how to take that, was she suggesting i was lying or did she think telling him to stop that he wouldn't actually listen. I had called 911 once but had no idea what to say so when they answered i just hung up. I told my mom again after he had died that it happened more than once, that he did not stop when she "talked to him" this time all she did was cry, she had nothing to say. Around the same time i had also been raped by a friend's brothers, but i didn't tell anyone, i just recently told my friend. There was a incident with a date after i left my husband that i didn't report. But some years later when i was held captive for maybe some months im not sure how long, when i got away i called the cops, and they completely blew me off, said if i had no proof like pictures of bruises they wouldn't help me, so i let it go. That was probably close to seven years ago.
 
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