We live in an individualistic society. People go about their days and sometimes don’t even care to ask the person walking next to them on the street how they are doing or if they need help with carrying their bags. So, it is no surprise that most people have become custom to keeping things to themselves.
It is hard enough for people that have not suffered a traumatizing experience to open up to one another, but let us take a moment to think about how terrifying it would be for those who are survivors of a sexual assaults to speak up about their daily struggles.
One of the main reasons as to why we are so scared to open up about things that have happened in our past, is that we know that the world we live in can be extremely judgmental at times. We are not sure how people will react to some things that have happened to us if we shared them with others that do not understand the subject matter.
In order to make it a little easier for survivors to share their stories, we need to make places such as work and school a safe and positive environment so they can feel comfortable talking about their past.
Education is key. If someone is willing to listen to a survivors story, they have to at least know general information about sexual abuse and the affect it can have on the victim. How a person that has gone through a sexual abuse may feel, and what topics to bring up during a discussion and maybe some things that might be too personal for a group discussion. Once the environment is aware of the statistics and general information, then survivors can express themselves as they wish.
If we all just take a little more time to be less selfish and more selfless, I believe that we can become more trusting in opening up. That is the first step when it comes to survivors coming forward to schools and feeling safe when doing so.