Child Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse might have occurred when you were a child or a young adult. When this has happened, we can feel shame and guilt even though it wasn’t our fault.
It is important to remember:
It is important to remember:
- What happened isn’t your fault. It isn’t ‘because of you’ or anything that you did or didn’t do. It is only the fault of the person who abused you
- It is normal for your body to respond to sexual touching, even when you don’t want it. This can be confusing but what happened was still abuse, and was not your fault.
- Exploring our sexuality when we come from families and society where it is ‘forbidden’ or ‘stigmatised’ makes us vulnerable. Being forced/pushed to participate in sexual activity that you were not ready for is sexual abuse
- Your sexuality is not because of abuse. People of all sexualities have experienced abuse, and there are people of all sexualities who haven’t. You can trust your gut instincts about who you are
- Being trans is not because of abuse. Some people who are trans have experienced abuse and some have not, just like all genders
