Understanding Sexual Trauma

Sexual trauma is one of the most misunderstood and silenced forms of harm. For many survivors, the experience of sexual trauma is not just about what happened physically — it is about what happened emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and relationally.

Sexual trauma disrupts safety at the deepest level. It impacts the body, the nervous system, identity, boundaries, relationships, and sense of self. Because it violates the body’s autonomy and choice, it often leaves survivors with long-lasting wounds that can feel confusing, shameful, or misunderstood.

But here is the truth:

Sexual trauma is never the survivor’s fault. And the body can heal — slowly, gently, and at its own pace.

What Counts as Sexual Trauma?

Sexual trauma includes any unwanted or non-consensual sexual activity. This includes acts involving force, manipulation, coercion, intimidation, fear, or the inability to give consent.

Some forms of sexual trauma include:

• Rape
• Sexual assault
• Childhood sexual abuse
• Molestation
• Incest
• Sexual exploitation
• Sexual harassment
• Coercive sexual experiences within relationships
• Sexual encounters in which someone was too young to consent
• Sexual violence within marriage or committed partnerships
• Medical or reproductive violations
• Sexual acts performed while the survivor was intoxicated, unconscious, or unable to resist

Sexual trauma is not defined by how “severe” someone else thinks it was. It is defined by how your nervous system experienced the event.

If your body felt fear, powerlessness, confusion, or shame — it was trauma.

Why Sexual Trauma Is So Impactful

Sexual trauma affects parts of life that are deeply personal:

Body autonomy

Your right to control your own body was violated.

Boundaries

Someone ignored your “no,” your discomfort, or your inability to consent.

Trust

Especially if the person was a partner, family member, friend, or authority figure.

Safety

Your body no longer felt like a safe place to live.

Identity

Survivors often question who they are and who they can trust.

Spiritual self

Many survivors feel spiritually disconnected or “unclean,” even though they did nothing wrong.

Nervous system

The body stores the trauma somatically — through sensations, pain, and memory (Van der Kolk, 2014).

Sexual trauma is not only a violation of the body — it is a violation of selfhood.

The Body Remembers Sexual Trauma

The body encodes sexual trauma in ways that are deeply physical.

Many survivors experience:

• Trouble relaxing
• Difficulty with physical closeness
• Tension in the pelvis, thighs, stomach, or jaw
• Startle responses
• Feeling discomfort or fear during intimacy
• Feeling numb or disconnected during sex
• Nightmares
• Flashbacks
• Feeling “frozen” during sexual situations
• Difficulty trusting partners

This is not “overreacting.” These responses reflect a nervous system still carrying the memory of danger.

Your body is trying to protect you.

Sexual Trauma in Black and Indigenous Communities

Sexual trauma cannot be separated from history.

Black communities carry the legacy of:

• Sexual violence during enslavement
• Forced breeding
• Medical experimentation
• Stereotypes that hypersexualize Black bodies
• Community silence rooted in survival
• Racist assumptions that impact reporting and credibility

Indigenous communities carry the legacy of:

• Sexual violence in boarding schools
• Violence during forced relocation
• Sexual targeting of Native women and girls by non-Native men
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis
• Community mistrust of police and institutional systems

These histories shape how sexual trauma is experienced — and how healing unfolds.

For many Black and Indigenous survivors, silence was a survival strategy passed down. Your story may feel heavy not only for you, but for your lineage.

Why Survivors Stay Silent

Most survivors do not speak out right away — sometimes for years, sometimes decades.

This silence is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of protection.

Survivors may stay silent because:

• They fear not being believed
• The perpetrator was a partner, spouse, or loved one
• They don’t want to “cause trouble”
• Trauma impacted their memory or clarity
• They feel shame or self-blame
• They grew up in communities where silence was the norm
• They fear retaliation
• They fear racism or discrimination in the reporting system
• They feel guilty or confused
• They were children and didn’t understand what happened

Silence is a survival response — not a measure of truth.

Common Myths About Sexual Trauma

Myth 1: “If they didn’t fight back, it wasn’t rape.”

Fact: Freeze is a biological survival response.

Myth 2: “It wasn’t ‘that bad.’”

Fact: Severity is defined by impact, not by comparison.

Myth 3: “They were drunk, so it doesn’t count.”

Fact: Inability to consent = sexual assault.

Myth 4: “Real men can’t be sexually assaulted.”

Fact: Men, boys, and masculine-identifying people are also victims.

Myth 5: “It happened in a relationship, so it’s not trauma.”

Fact: Sexual violation within relationships is still sexual trauma.

These myths cause deep harm, especially in communities of color. Know the facts. 

Healing from Sexual Trauma

Healing sexual trauma is not linear. It requires patience, safety, and compassionate support.

At Little River Psychological Services, healing includes:

Rebuilding Safety in the Body

Through grounding, somatic regulation, and gentle embodiment.

Exploring Body Memory

Understanding how the trauma lives in physical sensations.

Understanding Consent and Boundaries

Learning that your “no,” “stop,” and “I’m not ready” matter.

Restoring Sexual Agency

You get to define your pace, your preferences, and your boundaries.

Dream-Based Healing

Trauma often shows up in dreams, and dreamwork can support release and integration.

Cultural & Ancestral Healing Practices

Including land-based grounding, ceremony, prayer, water rituals, drumming, music, and community healing circles.

Processing Shame and Self-Blame

Understanding these emotions as trauma responses — not truths.

Healing Relationships

Learning how to trust, connect, and feel safe again.

Sexual trauma healing is slow work — but transformation is possible.

You deserve culturally safe, survivor-centered care:

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME or CONNECT to 741741
• Native Text Line: Text NATIVE
• BlackLine: Call/text 1-800-604-5841 (no police involvement)
• RAINN (National Sexual Assault Hotline): 1-800-656-4673
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call/text 988
• IHS Suicide Prevention: https://www.ihs.gov/suicideprevention

You are not alone. Your body can heal. Your voice matters. Your story matters.

References

Campbell, R., & Wasco, S. M. (2005). Understanding rape and sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(1), 127–131.

Mosley, D. V., et al. (2020). Critical consciousness of anti‐Black racism: A practical model for Black psycho‐sociocultural wellness. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 48(4), 251–267.

National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2015). Sexual violence and communities of color: Historical and contemporary trauma.

Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. W. W. Norton.

Schneider, M., & Brubaker, S. (2020). Sexual violence in Native communities. Violence Against Women, 26(7–8), 683–706.

Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. Viking.