I Was Labeled a Slut for Being Sexually Assaulted
Sometimes the bystanders to your trauma are more harmful than the abuser
I knew I’d made a mistake as soon as I saw their faces. Nobody could look at me. I didn’t blame them, I was ashamed of myself too. I searched for some flicker of hope that they were going to stop all of this. One of my teachers opened her mouth and I waited for the words: “he won’t hurt you again.” But they never came.
“You shouldn’t have told him about your past. When you go to university, it’s best you don’t tell people you were abused as a child,” she said.
I didn’t understand. Were there more people who might do this to me? And was it my fault? Could I have prevented it if I hadn’t divulged my past?
The meeting was over quicker than it had begun and I was advised to keep away from him. Again, I didn’t understand. I was trying to keep away from him but he was in all of my classes. I asked what was going to happen now. I knew the answer, but I hoped I was wrong.
“We will speak to him privately.”
I was right. I felt sick. I knew my life was over.
I walked back to class, feeling heavier than before. I spent the lesson trying to savor these moments where nobody knew I had told on him. After…
