Every 73 seconds, an American falls victim to sexual abuse. This equals approximately 433,648 people each year.
Therefore, you’re not alone if you have been sexually abused. But not all cases of assault or rape are clear-cut, especially if they happened long ago.
You may have had a questionable encounter with someone when you were younger, which has led you to contemplate how to know if you were sexually abused.
Read on to learn about the telltale signs.
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What is Sexual Abuse?
You might be unsure if you’ve been a victim of sexual abuse because your experience doesn’t fit with what you think of as abuse.
It’s not always a grown-up who forces him or herself onto a child. Abuse can come at the hands of another child or family member. Even trusted members of the community could have harmed you — clergy abuse is one such example.
Sexual abuse may not even come with physical touch. For example, if someone exposed him or herself to you, that is sexual abuse. Forcing you to watch pornography or making inappropriate comments to a child also counts as abuse.
And sexual abuse can be murky for adults who experience it, as well. You also might have had to contend with sexual harassment, which is not okay, either.
How to Know If You Were Sexually Abused
It’s important to remember that not remembering is not proof that you weren’t abused. Instead, your brain might have pushed the triggering memories from your conscious to your subconscious mind. Its self-preservation, but it also makes it hard to tell if you’ve suffered abuse.
However, these are the most common signs of sexual abuse in those who can’t quite remember what happened. Firstly, suffering trauma and blocking it from your mind can still leave you with PTSD-like side effects. They include:
- Restlessness
- Foggy memories
- Emotional outbursts
- Feeling guilt or shame
You might also find it tough to have a healthy relationship, which manifests as:
- Trust issues
- Fear of intimacy or being alone
- Difficulty setting boundaries
- Anger issues and resentment toward your partner
- Co-dependency
- Playing the victim
Sometimes, abuse can cause physical manifestations, such as:
- Disconnect from the body
- A feeling of uncleanliness
- Obesity
- Regular low-grade fever or flu-like symptoms
And it can cause you to suffer from other mental health issues. Do you deal with any of the following?
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Addictions
- Eating disorders
- Self-harm
- Sleep issues
- Panic attacks
- OCD
- Low self-esteem
This is not an inclusive list of the signs of sexual abuse. But if you deal with any number of them — and have a murky memory of someone violating you — then you may also have been a victim.
What to Do Next
Now you’ve learned how to know if you were sexually abused. And perhaps the signs have opened your eyes to your own personal trauma.
The next step is up to you, but therapy might be a good place to start. Talk to someone, and figure out how to make sense of what happened.
Of course, your decisions are yours to make. But you should do your best to heal and move forward with your life. Your health is of the utmost importance.
Sexual assaults are often verbal, visual, or anything that forces an individual to hitch in unwanted sexual contact or attention. Samples of this are voyeurism (when someone watches private sexual acts), incest (sexual contact between family members), and harassment. It can happen in several situations, by a stranger in an isolated place, on a date, or within the home by someone you recognize.
Violence against women by anyone is usually wrong, whether the abuser is someone you date; a current or past boyfriend or girlfriend; a family member; an acquaintance; or a stranger. You’re not guilty. You probably did not cause the abuse to occur, and you’re not liable for the violent behavior of somebody else.
If you or someone you recognize has been sexually assaulted, seek help from other relations and friends or community organizations. Reach out for support or counseling. Talk with some health care provider, especially if you’ve got been physically hurt. Find out how to attenuate your risk of becoming a victim of sexual assault or sexual abuse before you discover yourself in an uncomfortable or threatening situation.
And, study the way to get help for sexual abuse and abuse below. Another important part of getting assistance knows if you’re in an abusive relationship. There are clear signs to assist you to recognize if you’re being abused.
