Sex and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common mental disorder that can develop after a person experiences trauma.1 PTSD can affect anyone regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, or background. Although PTSD is most commonly associated with war or military experience, PTSD can also develop following a natural disaster, accident, sexual assault, or other traumatic or life-threatening…

Bodily Autonomy

Bodily autonomy is defined as the right to self governance over one’s own body without external influence or coercion. It is generally considered to be a fundamental human right. Bodily autonomy relates to the concept of affirmative consent, which requires full and eager participation in any sexual encounter. Bodily autonomy is also applicable to each…

What To Do If You Have Been Sexually Assaulted

Disclaimer: We acknowledge that there are many different words that individuals use to describe themselves after experiencing sexual assault. In this article we use the term “survivor” for the sake of consistency. We acknowledge that there are many different ways of processing sexual violence, and believe each individual person should choose the language that they are most…

What Is Consent?

Disclaimer: We acknowledge that there are many different words that individuals use to describe themselves after experiencing sexual assault. In this article, we use the term ‘survivor’ for the sake of consistency. We acknowledge that there are many ways of processing sexual violence, and believe each individual person should choose the language that they are most…

Male Sexual Assault

Disclaimer: We acknowledge that there are many different words that individuals use to describe themselves after experiencing sexual assault. In this article, we only use the term “survivor” for the sake of consistency. We acknowledge that there are many different ways of processing sexual violence, and we believe each individual should be able to choose the language…

Sexual Abuse Indicators in Children

Disclaimer: We acknowledge that there are many different words that individuals use to describe themselves after experiencing sexual assault. In this article we use the term “victim” for the sake of consistency. We acknowledge that there are many different ways of processing sexual violence, and we believe each individual person should choose the language that they…

Different Types of Sexual Assault

Disclaimer: We acknowledge that there are many different words that individuals use to describe themselves after experiencing sexual assault. In this article we use the term ‘survivor’ for the sake of consistency. We acknowledge that there are many different ways of processing sexual violence, and believe each individual person should choose the language that they are…

The Aftermath of Sexual Violence

The aftermath of sexual assault is different for each individual survivor. Some survivors face a lifetime of long-term effects, while others are able to move past the traumatic effects of the attack in several years. Some survivors find it helpful to talk about their experiences, while others do not. In either case, survivors, as well as friends and family of survivors,…

Coping With Abuse

Disclaimer: We acknowledge that there are many different words that individuals use to describe themselves after experiencing abuse. In this article we use the term survivor for the sake of consistency. We acknowledge that there are many different ways of processing abuse and believe each individual person should choose the language that they are most comfortable with. Unfortunately,…