Link – ‘I survived abuse – now I’m starting to date at 47’

I love that this story is being told for a number of reasons. First, and foremost, I think it’s important that people understand how child abuse can lead to very serious issues around relationships and intimacy. Not all of those issues will look like this, a massive fear of intimacy that leads to trying to truly date for the first time at 47, but there are severe consequences that come from being sexually assaulted at a young age. I’m glad people are telling those stories.

Secondly, I love that this is a story about a male survivor. I suspect that much of society, if it’s aware at all about intimacy issues for survivors, assumes that it plays out as women being fearful and men being hyper-sexual. In fact, there is a wide spectrum of responses to abuse and they all need to be recognized as legitimate, individual, responses to what happened.

There is no “one” way sexual abuse impacts everyone, especially when it comes to romance.

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-48213284