Sexual abuse is a damaging, humiliating assault on a child's spirit and body. For most victims, it is a secret they maintain and attempt to repress well into adulthood. While one hopes that the pain and shame will finally leave, often it remains within, severely impacting how it is they live their lives.
Recovery for the sexual abuse survivor has been about Breaking the Silence - speaking the truth about what happened. In this powerful video, Claudia Black takes a straightforward and compassionate look at breaking the silence as she talks about the issues of sexual abuse and what survivors need to do to defend or protect themselves.
Breaking the Silence covered the most prevalent defenses and responses including:
- Denial
- Compartmentalizing
- Splitting
- Loss of Recall
- Flooding and Flashbacks
- Sexual Promiscuity
- Sexual Avoidance
- Self-Abuse
- Suicidal Thoughts and Attempts
- Phobias
- Food
- Alcohol and Other Drugs
In the healing process, victims need to name their defenses and let go of those that are now hurtful, put the past behind and live a life free from shame.
Because of the sensitive nature of the material presented, we advise that this video be shown under the supervision of an experience practitioner/therapist in dealing with issues of sexual abuse.