Part 1: Understanding Self-Blame After Sexual Assault (It Was Never Your Fault)
⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: This post discusses sexual assault, trauma responses, and self-blame. Please read at your own pace and take care of yourself. Let me start here, clearly and without hesitation: It was not your fault. It should not have happened. And I believe you. People are fully clothed and still assaulted. People say no and are still assaulted. People are asleep, intoxicated, frozen, or confused and still assaulted. You don’t even have to be human to be violated. Get this, there are documented cases of animals being harmed sexually. If harm happens across all conditions… then it is not about what you wore, what you drank, where you were, or how you acted. It is about one thing: someone choosing to harm. So then… who is responsible? The perpetrator. Every time. So Why Do I Still Blame Myself? This is one of the most painful and confusing parts of trauma. You know logically it wasn’t your fault… but your mind keeps searching for ways it might have been. That’s not because you...
