Sharing – Victims of child sexual abuse felt stereotyped after disclosing experiences
And this is really the tip of the iceberg. Those stereotypes are harmful, and in the case of leaving trauma untreated, dangerous. But we’ve all heard them, and more, haven’t we?
“A total of 81% said they had felt stereotyped as an abuse survivor, while 69% said they did not speak out about abuse due to the fear of being stereotyped.
Survivors contributing to the poll said they had been labelled as emotionally unstable, damaged or weak after disclosing their abuse, which had a negative effect on their professional and personal lives.
One stereotype highlighted by survivors was that victims of child sexual abuse would go on to be abusers themselves, the inquiry said.”
Look, it’s hard enough to come forward and talk about something that most people don’t want to hear about in the first place, and deal with the consequences that coming forward may bring. We shouldn’t also have to deal with people stereotyping us in ways that are harmful too.
