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I believe you. Whatever the circumstances were, whatever you were wearing, no matter how much you had to drink, no matter if you were on anything at the time, no matter if that person was your partner or a random stranger you met on a night out, you did not deserve what happened, and I believe you. I hope you find peace in yourself, I hope you can wake up in the morning and be able to face the day head on, I hope you have good people around to support you when you need it most.

Healing to me is about acknowledging the experiences I've had, coming to terms with the fact I never did anything to warrant them. It is about knowing that by opening up about my struggles I can help others, it is about sitting with the hard feelings when they occur but knowing they won't last but I will. It is as simple as appreciating the wind blowing the trees, my friends and I laughing over dinner, reading a book I like, hugs. Healing is lots of things and healing is possible for us all.

As cliche as it may be, things will get better. You are believed, you have value, and you deserve the greatest happiness. And you will get it! Make sure to put yourself first, to look out for yourself, and to surround yourself with those who genuinely care about you.

Firstly, remember you are not alone; there are plenty of people who will listen to you. You may find it hard to trust others because people have been minimising or gaslighting you, but Secondly, get involved in activities outside your home and work. You need to have the kind of social circle you can dip in and out of, where there is no pressure (because you don't have to live with them and you're not depending on them for a job). Mixing with more people will make you more socially aware which, in turn, will help you set healthy boundaries; if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, you will know. Thirdly, look after your physical health. Get fit. Eat well. Rest. Learn techniques such as yoga.

Healing to me is being kind to yourself and allow yourself to have those hard days, allow your heart to love yourself because you are pretty amazing. For me art was my way to express those feelings even though I was not good at it, I just let it be and kept going.

Healing to me means realising none of this was ever my fault - it wasn’t what I was wearing or because I was drunk. And it also means working hard to make sure women and girls are safe

For me, healing meant to be at peace in my body. Being at peace being sexual with myself and others. Feeling beautiful even on days when I didn't particularly look like an IG Baddie, but knowing that I still am worthy of love and respect. I met some amazing people along my healing journey who remind me of this on the daily. There are always going to be days where you feel shit, but the important thing is knowing that you got this. (As cliché as it sounds lol) I like to think if me from all those years ago saw me now, they'd be either in disbelief or proud of how far I've made it from that point. I'm out with friends almost every weekend, I'm seeing the world, and just enjoying life and sex again. I feel sure of myself and I hope I can be the same person who was there for me when I shared my story, and met me with kindness and love.

Healing is such a broad term. For some people it means going to counselling. Talking it out with one person, during a set time. For some people it means doing it internally, with some help from others. For some people it may never happen, or may not happen as quickly as you want. For me.....my healing lies in helping people who have experienced some of what I have. For me, my healing is in my hobbies - Performing, crafting, crochet, singing. The important thing with any healing (I think) is to remember that YOU are NOT your story. Your story is part of you but doesn't define who you are. Your healing will happen at a different pace to literally EVERYONE else.

Love yourself, be kind to yourself, spend money on yourself, you don't need to forgive yourself as you did nothing wrong

For me the core element of healing was accepting that I had worth. After the assault I felt unloveable, like my body only existed as something for other people to use, that I would never find comfort or enjoyment or pleasure from intimacy. That process had a stark turning point when I ended relationships and friendships with people who were clearly having a negative impact on me. While it was of course tough to end things with people who I had known for years, escaping my thoughts and behaviours, and the influence that those people had held over me, resulted in shockingly quick turnaround in how I felt about myself, my confidence, my value and my worth. I have also found it extremely cathartic to be able to connect with others in the LGBTQ community who have experienced something similar. The experience of being closeted and knowing the impact that disclosure can have is shared by many, and can be applied here. Having the experience of coming out, and of disclosing something that is inherent to you, and contrasting that against the experience of the assault which is not about you but instead is something done to you, was also incredibly helpful.

Healing is acceptance, healing is patience with yourself, healing is self compassion.

At first it was hard to do anything. I stopped seeing friends, I stopped eating healthy, I stopped going to the gym. I was late for work every day because I could hardly get out of bed. Now I’m going to the gym regularly, keeping up with all my friends, and doing well in work. I’ve been attending therapy with the intention of balancing healing with maintaining my real life responsibilities. I’ve found comfort in talking to my friends. One day I hope to be able to let romance into my life. Ive noticed that I need time to build trust so I know now that when I do start dating again he will have to be patient and kind.

Healing has happened in many forms for me. I have used professional resources, creatively expressed myself through healing.

I find this very healing. I heard about it on radio just this morning, and I thought it was an excellent idea to allow people to publish their stories without going through the stress of a #MeToo declaration or taking court cases which would only re-traumatise us. Moving on with my life has also helped; I have found a new career as the last one was toxic. To really heal, we need to talk about our experiences bit by bit, never letting them overwhelm us. Posting this today is a brick in the wall I'm building up to distance myself from people who breached my sexual boundaries in the past. I love the fact that there's a "safety exit" as a lot of people who use this may be living with people who would not understand or are their abusers (in which case, they need to escape as soon as they can). Just knowing that there are people who came up with this idea is very empowering. Thank you so much.

Not thinking about what happened all day, every day, 24/7/365. Feeling like myself again. ❤️

If you have experienced ANY type of unwarranted sexual harassment, assault, violence - I BELIEVE YOU. YOU ARE VALID AND YOU ARE IMPORTANT.

You are not your story. Your story does not define you. Your story is simply a piece of you. The journey of healing may be dark at times but there is always hope and always help. Us survivors are all the same. Regardless of our experience we are all incredible. You never know who you are inspiring by simply getting up in the morning. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world. Keep going. And remember, that every day you open your eyes, is a day worth remembering how amazing you are.

Sexual violence is the most Earth-shattering and world view altering experience to endure. But speaking as somebody who endured it and came out the other side a more compassionate, stronger woman - you will be ok. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or the next day, but eventually you will be.

It gets better. I know you’ve heard that and probably raising your eyes to heaven as your reading this. But it does. There was one time where I thought this would define me for the rest of my life, but it doesn’t. It’s not who I am, it’s something that happened to me, the blame is on another person.

It gets easier to process with time. It never goes away but it does get smaller in my mind.