Similar Posts
Trafficking Happens In All The Places We Assume It Doesn’t
Kathleen’s point is an important one. We aren’t going to see change when so many people see trafficking, abuse, etc., as something that happens to “those other people.” We need to continue telling our stories so that we remind people that trafficking isn’t something that happens only with immigrants or poor people. It’s the same thing with abuse, sexual assault, mental health. It happens everywhere, and if you don’t know anyone who was trafficked or survived sexual abuse or assault, it’s probably because you don’t seem like a safe person to talk to about it.
Links I’m Sharing (weekly) Sept. 6 2020
Toxic Shame and How to Overcome It
How To Be A Mental Health Advocate
Nancy Hogshead-Makar on Sexual Abuse in Olympics and College Sports
When Your Mental Illness Comes in Waves
Suicide Prevention Month
Some interesting “lunch and learn” programs you may want to consider.
We Can All Prevent Suicide
Male suicides at highest rate in two decades, official data shows | UK News
What Most People Don’t Know About Psychological Trauma
Sexual minorities and suicide prevention
Using Humor as a Coping Tool
What is the Justice System For, Anyway?
I found myself reading this interview with Dr. Mary Koss recently, and while I’m not 100% sure about the prospect of “Restorative Justice”, as she refers to it, I think that often, when we think about child sexual abuse, we fall into the same misconceptions about the legal system that she refers to when talking more broadly about sexual assault.
Namely, that the legal system is not really designed to assist with the healing of a victim.
Sharing – Healed is a Myth and Marketing Tool
So many survivors want the answer to that first question. They want to know when this will be over and done with, but that’s not realistic. It would be like me asking when will I be “healed” from diabetes. I won’t be. My disease is something that is part of me that I have to manage. I take medicine, I watch what I eat, I don’t drink, etc. That’s not going to end. I fully understand that there is no future version of me where I don’t have to do any of those things.
Similarly, there is no future version of me that isn’t a survivor of child abuse. It happened. There is no cure I can buy that will create a version of me where I didn’t have that experience and be shaped by it. That’s not to say that I cannot have a great life, but I will always have a life impacted by those events.
