Typical reasons why Sexual Abuse/assault Victims don't Report

Sexual Abuse & sexual assault (SA) can be difficult for survivors to seek help for or report for a multitude of reasons. You, or someone you know might identify with some of these typical reasons & fears:

Telling the story would be too emotionally overwhelming....“I just can’t go there...it would break me”. "I might not be believed", "I might get judged", "What happened to me isn't important enough compared to other people's experiences", "They will think I must be making it up, because I just can't remember all the 'parts' of what happened". "I'm a bloke, I should of been able to fight back...they will think I wanted it". "I can't explain why I just froze".

A fear of something real that could happen or something that happened when previously reported, or fear of something imagined can prevent reporting. For example: feeling humiliated by your personal information or details of your SA experience openly shared with people who don’t need to know. The person you have to report to may know the perpetrator or is the perpetrator. The perpetrator may be a spouse, family member or relative, and a fear of what the perpetrator or people associated with the perpetrator will do, especially when cultural ramifications are involved. Fear of being humiliated by a lawyer in court. Belief & guilt that you ‘deserved’ it, that it was your ‘fault’. Fear that you are going to be made out to be ‘crazy, unstable, attention seeking’. Fear of your personal life being exposed. Fear of backlash from friends, family colleagues, the community. Fear that it will confirm your ‘brokenness’. Fear that reporting will cause you problems in your workplace, a demotion, missed opportunities, you might get moved elsewhere. Fear of letting go of your trauma identity “Who am I without my trauma story”....etc

However, talking to a professional about the impact of your Sexual abuse/assault is an important step in moving forward and healing from your SA experience.