You're Not Alone

You tell because you want things to change - it's got to be worth it.

— young person

You want to know what's going to happen - you don't want any surprises. You don't know what's going to happen before you tell - which is really scary, and then to not know what's going to happen afterwards can be really stressful.

— young person

My family's response was so important to me, they're not going to go away - they're not like friends, you have to be around them for the rest of your life.

— young person

I just didn't think they would believe me, I thought they knew and didn't care. Believing me showed me they cared for me, it was important to feel believed straight away... a relief.

— young person

People say just get over it... they don't know what you have been through...what you have had to live. Hearing people say that adds pressure because it makes you want to get over it faster and you try to, and when you can't do it you feel like shit. It makes it worse.

— young person

It really helped when mum and dad did things that made me feel cared for. You don't want them to say nothing to you, telling them is such a big thing; you want them to say something to make you feel cared for.

— young person

I wanted them to understand the stuff I used to do that looked like weird behaviour, it wasn't weird it was connected to what happened to me.

— young person

Having space and feeling safe at home is really important. It's kind of pointless to tell and go through all that stress at home if you don't feel safe after telling, for them not to care about your safety. You shouldn't even have to ask if you want the person around, if you say no once it should be respected.

— young person

I didn't want to have to go and tell the police myself, I wanted my parents to go and do all of that stuff because they wanted to do it. They shouldn't do it straight away. They should talk to me first... you don't want added stress of not knowing what's going to happen next because it's been so unpredictable for so long.

— daughter

Even weird things like hypervigilance--why every noise makes me so jumpy... it all makes sense now.

— woman

Although I am still a work in progress, I feel that I am no longer a danger to myself. Through this entire ordeal I have learned to face my fears, as my fears never have to be faced on my own with HELP, family, and close friends.

— woman

My family have learned to accept and appreciate that the world is not the pretty picture we paint it out to be, but in the face of the storm there is light, love, laughter, and – always hope.

— woman

I had a fear of being in public, a fear of noise, etc – I was afraid to go out, I was like a deer caught in headlights.

— woman

I experienced flash backs that I could not recall whether I was living in the past or the future. I was in such a state I could not even look after my children, as I couldn’t cope with my own issues, never mind theirs.

— mother