Honestly, we hope no one has to read this article. However, that would be unrealistic and mere imagination. In the rape culture that we live in, almost one in three men and half of the women have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetime. Sexual violence, irrespective of age, gender, class, or caste, can happen to anyone and change their lives completely.

Every sexual assault survivor reacts differently to the unfortunate event. The physical and mental trauma after an assault can make victims vulnerable. According to the National Women' Study, almost one-third of all rape victims i.e. 31% of women experienced PTSD at some point in their lives. Furthermore, the same study suggested that 33% of rape victims were likely to commit suicide.

Sexual violence is debilitating not only to the body but also to the mind. It can be unimaginably cumbersome to cope with the aftereffects of sexual violence. However, here are five things one should do after experiencing sexual assault.

1. Your Safety Is Important

After experiencing sexual assault, your brain goes into a hyper-reaction mode, where it cannot think rationally. Experiencing sexual assault can make anyone feel overwhelmed and driven by emotions. In such a circumstance, when you are going through sexual trauma, it is firstly crucial to ensure that you are in a safe space. You can call a person of your trust to share with them regarding the incident. Someone who might help you feel comfortable and safe. You must stay away from someone who might judge your decisions or accuse you of the incident.

2. Find Mental Support

Finding appropriate mental support is indispensable after one has gone through sexual assault. Reports demonstrate that sexual assault victims are more likely to develop mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc. soon after experiencing sexual abuse. It is crucial to find mental support after you or anyone you know has gone through sexual assault. Share your feelings with a person whom you might trust. If you cannot find such a person, you can also choose to take external help, to get yourself to share and talk about what you feel. 

3. Get Medical Help

It might be one of the biggest and most difficult steps that any sexual assault survivor might have to take after the incident. Seeking medical help can affirm the rape to oneself and everyone around, which can impact each victim differently. However, seeking medical help is crucial for sexual abuse victims. It can help survivors in multiple ways. Through medical tests and forensic exams, one can choose to freeze the evidence to take legal action later. Not only physical welfare, but medical help is also important to keep your mental health in check. Seeking medical support will allow you to recover better through counseling services and appropriate medical care.

4. Process Your Emotions

Most sexual assault survivors try to get over the debilitating incident by avoiding the incident. However, avoidance is not a sign of recovering from the impacts of sexual assault. Instead, they can be the reason why one cannot completely heal from sexual trauma. Consequently, it is indispensable for a sexual assault victims to process their emotions to heal mentally. Some of the effective ways one can process their emotions are by journaling their experience, sharing it with their close ones, seeking professional psychotherapy, etc. These methods can help eradicate issues, like denial, self-doubt, internal guilt, and memory loss. Other mental health conditions, like anxiety, depression, PTSD, societal thoughts, etc., could also be combatted when one processes their emotions fully.

5. Decide If You Want To Take Legal Help

Although it might appear like an obvious course of action, many victims of sexual assault find themselves in a quandary of whether or not to take legal help. One of the major reasons for not reporting the crime is that in most cases of sexual assault, the perpetrator is someone the victim already knows. Furthermore, testifying in front of the court can be challenging for survivors. In other conditions, the victim also faces the threat of retaliation when they decide to report the crime, which might lead them to not take legal help. After the assault has already taken place, survivors go through an overwhelming pool of emotions, which might make it difficult for them to report the crime. As a result, you must understand that assault is something that no one deserves. Reporting what happened to you will give you power and help you heal better and faster.

Apart from the above-mentioned things, it is furthermore crucial for survivors to pay close attention to self-care. Victims tend to self-blame and self-doubt themselves after an assault. To avoid that, one can indulge in yoga or meditation to relax the mind and heal from within. Furthermore, other techniques of self-care can involve indulging in activities that you love, like drawing, writing, listening to music, and others. Healing from a traumatizing event of sexual assault is not simple. It will take time and effort. All you need to do is stay patient and gentle with yourself.