(Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault) You know how people sometimes play that “game” of trying to prove they have the most grief? As a survivor of sexual assault, this poet was wasn’t up for playing – but someone else carelessly threw her trauma into the ring. Here’s her stirring telling of the moment her story was taken from her – check it out and feel the power of taking your strength and story back.

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Person standing at a window, looking out and down, seemingly sad or contemplative

(Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault) There’s no right or wrong way to respond to a sexual assault. But sometimes it’s hard to know what to do next. So here are some things to keep in mind. They’ll help you remember that you know what’s best for yourself, so you get to make your own choices. Read on and treat yourself with the same kindness you would give to others – you deserve nothing less.

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Person looking as though they have found clarity and are ready to move forward in their life

Just because you’re legally bonded to your family doesn’t mean that it’s okay for them to be violent toward you. And it’s pretty twisted when they (and others) believe otherwise. Abuse is abuse is abuse. But familial abuse comes with some extra complications that we need to discuss. So here are six ways to move toward cultivating a chosen family that nurtures you.

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(Trigger warning: rape). Rolling Stone’s recent retraction of a story about campus rape was a disaster, and not for reasons you might think. Rape survivors already face way too many barriers when it comes to getting help, including the risk that they they won’t be believed. Check out this video for insight on why Rolling Stone’s handling of the situation just makes those barriers worse.

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Rape songs, rape jokes, rape scenes. It’s alarming to recognize how much rape is embedded in United States culture. To change this, we have to speak up about it – which is exactly what these awe-inspiring poets did. With this spoken word piece, witness the fierce courage it takes to stand up to rape culture, call out the offending songs, and stop singing along. [Trigger Warning]

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Sibling sexual abuse is one of the most under-studied family violence issues, but it’s not entirely uncommon. And since the recent Lena Dunham controversy, it’s become a hot topic of debate in feminist circles. Where’s the line between typical experimentation with bodies and sexual abuse? This article sheds some light on the subject, giving you a place to start.

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Rape is portrayed as something cis men do to cis women. This myth ignores the stories of too many survivors and protects their perpetrators who don’t identify as such. If we want to fight rape culture and advocate for all survivors, we have to stop gendering rape and upholding stereotypes. This infographic reminds us to support ALL survivors and hold ALL perpetrators accountable.

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Any time sexual assault is brought up, chances are there will be voices complaining that “if they were really raped, they should go to the police.” But that is far from fair. There are many reasons people don’t involve the police, none of which have to do with whether or not a rape actually happened. Here are eight barriers that keep survivors from reporting.

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A key component in battling rape culture is encouraging survivors to speak out about their experiences. This can be beneficial not only for the cause, but also for individual survivors as they heal. But the strong focus on story-telling has an unfortunate side-effect. Let’s learn more about why focusing on survivor stories as inspiration can actually be damaging and how to avoid doing that.

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(Trigger warning: victim-blaming, sexual assault, pedophilia, transphobia, rape.) As society slowly begins to recognize the pervasive problem of sexual violence, it is important to remember that this abuse can affect anyone. People of all ages, genders, races, sizes, and sexualities have survived this kind of violence. These photos show how widespread this violence is.

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If you ask street harassers why they catcall women, chances are they’ll say they mean it as a compliment. “If women on the street said I look nice, it would make my day!” But the thing is, it’s not a compliment. It’s obnoxious at best and terrifying at worst. This cartoon demonstrates how absurd it is to expect people to be flattered by street harassment.

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One of the most dangerous aspects of abusive relationships is that perpetrators convince their partners that the abuse is a sign of love. And that can be a difficult spell to break. This short film follows the story of a poet named Lucy who delivers a spoken word piece about the subtle ways that abuse began to dominate her relationship — and how she broke free.

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While most of us see sexual violence as horrific, too often the primary type we see as “real” is stranger rape. This makes it harder to listen to survivors who know their perpetrators, which is the majority of the time. In this video, psychologist Dr. Burrowes explains why we need to broaden our understanding of sexual violence in order to acknowledge it every time it happens.

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Many women can tell you that being alone, outside, after dark is something they avoid doing whenever possible. But if you’ve never been a woman walking alone at night, you may not understand how scary it can be and how powerless you can feel. Check out this video in which six women talk openly about what they’ve experienced and felt while out alone after dark.

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Some of the most common victim-blaming lines refer specifically to clothing: “What was she wearing?” “With that outfit, she was asking for it.” It’s as if people don’t realize that people communicate with words, not with clothing. Check out this tongue-in-cheek imagining of what the world would be like if people were only able to communicate via clothing.

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If you’ve spent more than two minutes on the Internet, you’ve probably seen internet harassment—trolling, bullying, insincere but deliberately hurtful comments, and other things that no one would say to another person’s face offline. But the internet isn’t some disembodied place where people should feel okay with delivering abuse without consequences.

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The silence of a missing young girl named Relisha Rudd, of the 276 Nigerian school girls half a world away from her, and of the thousands of child sufferers of abuse, assault, and abduction unwillingly call us to a greater understanding of how to protect our young. Thankfully, experts in violence against children — and survivors of childhood violence — are speaking up.

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