Sexual Violence Research Paper

When I was nine years old I experienced sexual assault by a close relative. For years I locked this secret away in the depths of my soul. As a young girl I did not understand what rape was. I was scared and felt a great deal of shame; I felt weak and dirty, like a part of me had been ripped away and would never resurface. For years, I felt disconnected from my own body. I can still remember the day that I finally found the courage to tell my mom. It was a school day, and I knew that my mom would be home from work. I said that I had a stomach bug, and although I am sure she knew I was lying she allowed me to stay home. It had been such a long time since my mother and I had a good day together, and I did not want to ruin it by telling her about my rape. I decided I would tell her the following day. I spent the entirety of that day planning out what I would say to …show more content…
From adults to children as young as 6, this is certainly affecting my entire community. Despite the overwhelming number this issue has not been addressed, rather it has been reinforced by the lack of both public and legal support. Sexual violence is something that we often shy away from, and do not want to discuss. It has not been until recently that I have become more comfortable with sharing my experience with others, but I hope to one day be able to lend to the societal shift that is necessary to help these victims and reform our broken legal system. Until this shift is made, I would like to kick off the change by helping myself first, joining local support groups and telling my story. In return, I believe that this will better equip me for helping others who are going through or have been through similar situations to my own. Working on a larger scale, I would like to one day be able to connect my degree in political science or criminal justice to help both the women and men who are affected by sexual