[intheshadows]

thankyou

[elliotjunior]

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement!! I still struggle with the abuse and because I haven't really, honestly confronted the issue...it still is a big part of my life! I was abused as a child and it still hurts. I still blame myself! However, I know I wasn't the blame and no one deserves to be abused!!

Jes, on 27 May 2006 - 02:58 PM, said:

This was another thread I made that gotten eaten, so I've reposted :)/>

So many survivors have expressed to me that their wounds have been minimized by friends and loved ones, who may have told them to get over it, since it happened so long ago, or that it was not a big deal. Other friends may have asked questions like "Why didn't you fight" or "Why were you walking there in the first place?" These doubtful statements and questions only serve to minimize our pain and make us feel as though we do not have a right to feel as we do. It is unfortunate, but sometimes when we reach out for help, we find that our friends and families are not there.

Some of us struggle with minimizing our own experiences. Validating ourselves can be difficult. It's hard to admit that what happened has affected us. Sometimes we look at other people's experiences, judge them to be worse than our own and think we should not feel as badly as we do because othes have had it much worse than we have. I've talked to other survivors who doubt their memories of abuse, which makes the healing process more difficult for them.

Each of our experiences are unique and our reactions to them are just as individual. A friend of mine gives the wise advice, "Honor your process." Honoring our processes is to accept our feelings as legitimate and justified. If you are here because you are healing, I hope that you will honor yourself and your feelings. We all deserve to heal.

Who Deserves to Heal

If you were gang raped, you deserve to heal.

If you were raped once, you deserve to heal.

If you have been raped more than, you deserve to heal.

If someone has sexually assaulted you, you deserve to heal.

If it was attempted rape, you deserve to heal.

If it wasn't rape, if it was unwanted and inappropriate touching, you deserve to heal.

If you did not fight or scream, you deserve to heal.

If you were drugged or too intoxicated to give consent, you deserve to heal.

If you did not say no, but indicated through your actions that you were unnwilling, you deserve to heal.

If you are a man who has been sexually assaulted, you deserve to heal.

If it happened ten or twenty or thirty years ago, you deserve to heal.

If it was incest, you deserve to heal.

If you barely remember it, you deserve to heal.

If you were sexually harrassed, you deserve to heal.

If you are someone who supports, you deserve to heal.

That's all there is to it.

I've met people who have the feelings that their rape was not a particularly "bad rape". My rape was not a physically violent rape. I was only conscious of being raped for a few seconds and when I realized it, my boyfriend violently beat my rapist. He was the only one who got hurt.

It didn't make any difference to me. I had still been raped. It still hurt on the inside. I needed to heal.

The degree of the rape, abuse or assault doesn't matter. We feel many of the same emotions. And we all deserve to heal from them.

[Veronicaxx]

This made me cry because I finally realized that I didn't deserve what happened to me, thank you.

I deserve to heal.

[~e.rikayla~]

Its my first time on Pandy and I was just reading alot of enteries. I have known all this time thats its not ony me that it has happened to but I was always comparing my assult to others saying mine was that bad, well really it was. I definately did tell them to stop but I never put up a fight I was scared to think what they might do if I hit them and started screaming and kicking. They didnt stop till I started crying and started to get more agressive in my tone. Beacause of my parents not knowing what had gone on that were very mad at me screming, yelling everything that you could imagine of cause they stopped that when I could to tell them the truth. But on the other hand I didnt know who my friends were some of them went all weird cuz one of the guys went to the same school as all of us and some abused me and others stuck beside me and wanted to help and and the rest of them only stayed beside me so I would tell them everything then they would turn the story around and tell the hole school. I didnt know what they were doing until I would walk through a corridor one day and everyone would stare at me, point the fingure and call me awful names, till I actually realized what my so called FRIENDS were up to... Now I really have only got three close friends but really thats all I need they love me, support me, care for me and do everything to make me happy and I really dont need anymore than that. I was raped by two guys september 5th 2008, it has taken over a year to get to a trial and one of them got let off. I was so pertrified of going to court it was making me feel sick, I had to make a big decision and I had to choose what was best for me, for my health (depression and anxiety). So I chose to put it off. I want to move on with my life I didnt want another month to decide I wanted it to end all now cuz I could have already started on with my new life in that month! I had to toss up if I was going to regreat not going in the future or regreat going and I said to myself Id rather regreat not goin then regreated putting myself in that poition and putting my health at risk!! Im so happy now that I have got everything off my shouders for this Christmas Im gonna make the most of my time with my special family and Boyfriend and spend christmas like I used to when I was little!
Regards
~e.rikayla~

[SirenRex]

I've told other people this... but it's hard to listen to the advice when it's just coming from yourself. Thanks for telling me.

[Sankofa]

Wow, Thank you so much for this post. Whilst I often felt like I had been raped I repeatedly debated with myself whether or not it actually was rape because I kissed him first and things went downhill from there. Finally thanks to your post I know it really was rape as I had always felt.
Thank you

[libbyjoalfie]

Thank you for this i quite often think to myself it was my fault even though all the time people tell me the only person who is to blame is the man who did this to for for 3 months. i sometimes still think that i could of stopped it but the fact that he had me under his control n made out i couldnt survive without him made it hard for me to say anything. To join this forum is great because now i can see things from other peoples experiences and realise i am not alone Thanks :)/>

[Beveerly]

Thank you...for those words

[hgriffin81]

I am very thankful to you as well for this. You have made me feel welcome here already.

[skync]

Thank you for the wonderful words. I was doubtful if this was the right place to be or not. Registered and looked around but didn't feel like I should be here. These words have made me feel welcome. I do deserve to be here, and I do deserve to heal.

[Kira45]

Thank you for this post. My experience happened in December 2008, and it's only in the last few weeks that I've admitted that it was rape, that I am a victim. I feel like the last year of my life didn't happen... I was such a mess. But I still have a hard time taking it seriously and allowing myself room to heal. I walked right into the situation. I saw it coming, but I didn't stop it.

I'm rambling... this is my first post. I agree whole-heartedly with what so many others have said. This post made me feel welcome, and like I am allowed to be here. Thank you.

[Koru]

Kira45, on 25 January 2010 - 10:48 PM, said:

Thank you for this post. My experience happened in December 2008, and it's only in the last few weeks that I've admitted that it was rape, that I am a victim. I feel like the last year of my life didn't happen... I was such a mess. But I still have a hard time taking it seriously and allowing myself room to heal. I walked right into the situation. I saw it coming, but I didn't stop it.

I'm rambling... this is my first post. I agree whole-heartedly with what so many others have said. This post made me feel welcome, and like I am allowed to be here. Thank you.

I am currently in the legal process due to an incident that happened on 29th December. I was out drinking with friends - a female friend 's' and her gay male friend 'd'. we had been drinking quite heavily. they were sharing a house together. i went back with them. s went to bed i stayed up talking with d. at 5am ish i asked to be shown a room as i needed to sleep. d showed me. the last thing i remember is falling into bed fully clothed. the next thing i remember d is in the room, he had removed my trousers and knickers and was giving me oral sex. he is gay. he aroused me in my sleep. it was like a dream, i wasn't fully conscious of what was happening and didn't fight or say no. i let him carry on even though if i had not been so intoxicated i would never have let this happen. he totally abused my trust.

i woke up in the morning and left. i found out two days later he is hiv +. he was arrested and put in remand on a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent. it went to the cps but they discontinued due to lack of evidence despite the fact he admitted having sex with me knowing he is hiv+. i am currently on anti-hiv drugs and waiting to see if he has passed on his death sentence to me.

they originally said they would not bring a charge of rape because he is saying it was consensual. at what point was it consensual? i have spoken to the police since. they are now deciding to go ahead with a rape charge.

the thing that is hurting me at the moment is someone who i considered to be a closest friend believes it wasn't rape and that it is just a bit weird that this man did what he did.

i am here because i crave support and understanding. due to my friend's lack of compassion and understanding i find i am doubting myself.

it doesn't go to court until i find out with i am hiv+ or hiv-. i never expected or bargained for this to happen in a million years. i thought i was just going to a friend's for a few drinks. my new year has not been a happy one. i don't want to tell my family as it will worry them no end. i live alone and have to endure an endless preoccupation with what happened and will may happen.

[aleydee]

I don't know if I belong on this message board because I don't know what happened to me. I am a college sophomore and three days ago I went out with my friends. We were all drinking and I admit I did get rather intoxicated. I remember dancing with a boy at a frat and he offered to walk me home. However, he took me to his dorm. I was so confused as to why we were in a different dorm. He led me into his bedroom and turned the music on very loudly. His roommates were in his common room and my head was spinning. He got on top of me and I felt my body go limp with alcohol-induced fatigue. I remember saying "no" to him when he took my pants off. He told me it was OK but he didn't stop. My memory of the evening is so hazy but the next thing I remember was him having sex with me. He finished and I put my pants back on and ran back to my own dorm, crying. I don't know if this is rape or not because I don't remember everything I said and I don't remember everything he said. It is 100% my fault for getting so intoxicated and every time I think about it my heart races and I feel like I can't breathe. I'm too afraid to tell anyone because I know they will say I should not have drank so much and that I was just a dumb girl making a stupid decision.

I felt guilty even registering for this site because you are all strong amazing people who did experience horrific acts of sexual violence. I, however, got myself too drunk and allowed myself to be vulnerable and out of control.

Am I a survivor or am I just a girl who got drunk at a frat? I blame myself for drinking but I'm finding it hard to believe I would eventually give this boy permission to have sex with me. I don't even know his last name. I can't sleep and I feel so alone with a secret that is killing me. I feel like a dirty slut and a drunk idiot.

[tashabbz_xx]

i just want to take a knife and stab it right through my heart, my experiance happened on friday just gone.

my step father was tickling me on my bed then undid my bra without me realising and place his hand up my bra i know it dosent seem as bad as everyone elses i just dont know what to do. i rung the police but i am now dropping the charges because everybody hates me everyone thinks im lying. i have lost my whole second family who i was close to because they are obviously going to chose their father over me. im not even sure my mother belives me and i feel so alone right now i really dont know what to do. im only 15 im just asking for guideance from someone who has beenn through the same experiance it will be greatly appricated x

[SusanBlue]

i really appreciate that we all deserve to heal. because most times it's easier to keep hurting
and blaming oneself, and flooding with anger to lash out at others... at others because they ignore
or deny, or say you are lying when you tell someone for the first time, or when friends brush it off
as if some random update on your life they were willing to listen to for a few secs...

i always feel crazy
and irritable
and nothing is ever right or comfortable enough
i hate having sex most of the time even though my husband is an angelic dream
i'm exhausted
no one understands
or people thing i just want attention
and don't forgive me for being a wild teenager
because i didn't know it happened back then...

when i turned 25, i remembered all kinds of strange secretive molestations
and violent tortures that happened when i was 3,4,5,6,7, and 9. by an uncle.
and my whole family kept it a secret, and still act like nothing happened.
i hate that.

but i want to heal.

and gardening and pets really help that.

To Everyone on here, i completely understand your stories, where you're coming from,
the pain, confusion, anger, etc, and i thank you all, for i feel understood and
accepted for the first time.

thank you

susan blue