If you’re an adult who experienced sexualized violence as a child or young person, please know that you are not alone.
In Canada, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before before they turn 18.
Sexual abuse of children and youth often involves manipulation, coercion into sexual situations, bribery, and forced secrecy. As an adult survivor, you may have been living with these memories for a long time.
As a child, you may have tried to tell an adult and were met with disbelief or felt that there was no one you could trust. For these reasons and many others, the effects of sexual abuse can appear many years after the abuse has ended.
Similarly, adult survivors that experienced sexual assault or abuse years ago may have tried to “move on” or forget that scary experience, only to have it show up in other ways later in life.
Remember that there is no “normal” timeline for dealing with and recovering from this experience.
Often times, our clients wait 10+ years to access counselling services for the first time.
It is not uncommon to want to forget what happened and try to move on, but research shows that the sooner you can speak about your experience in a supportive environment (with family, friends, and/or a professional counsellor) the faster and more complete your healing process will be.
SSAIC provides counselling and group therapy to survivors of past or present sexualized violence, and to loved ones that have been impacted by another’s experiences. Learn more about our services or contact us to inquire about an appointment.
Reporting Historical Sexualized Violence
It is entirely your decision to report* sexualized violence. It is not uncommon to have mixed feelings or fear about making a police report. In Canada, there is no statute of limitations for reporting sexualized violence to the police (meaning there is no time limit – you can report sexualized violence at any point afterward). Take a look: we have answered some of the most commonly asked questions about reporting your assault to the police.
Contact our office if you have any more questions about reporting sexualized violence or the impacts.
*Exceptions: if a child is in need of protection, you have a duty to report to the Ministry of Social Services.
Resources for Historical Survivors of Sexualized Violence
SSAIC 24-Hour Crisis Line: 306-244-2224
Residential School Survivor Crisis Line (24-Hour): 1-800-721-0066
The Listen Project (learn more about this here): 306-974-3333