A safe space for survivors of sexual abuse and assault, and those supporting them. You’ll be believed, and you decide what to share.
For confidential 24/7 counselling, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. If you’re in immediate danger, call 000.
There’s no timeline for this. People arrive here weeks afterwards and forty years afterwards, and both are normal.
You do not need to describe what happened to be supported here. You don’t need to have reported it, named it, or decided anything about it.
What people talk about here
Not knowing how to say it out loud for the first time. Things surfacing years or decades later, often triggered by something unrelated. Whether what happened “counts” — a question almost everyone asks, and one that says more about how abuse works than about the event. Reporting: what the process involves, and the entirely valid decision not to. Finding a trauma-informed therapist. Telling a partner or family. The effects that show up in relationships, intimacy, sleep and trust. Supporting someone you love without making it about your own anger. And building a life that isn’t organised around it.
Support beyond the forum
- 1800RESPECT — national 24/7 sexual, domestic and family violence counselling. Call 1800 737 732, or use their online chat.
- Blue Knot Foundation — National Centre of Excellence for Complex Trauma, specialising in childhood abuse. Call 1300 657 380.
- Lifeline — 24/7 crisis support. Call 13 11 14.
- Kids Helpline — free 24/7 counselling for ages 5–25. Call 1800 55 1800.
Every state and territory has a specialist sexual assault service that can support you whether or not you report — 1800RESPECT will connect you to yours.
Posting rules for this category
Please don’t describe the abuse in detail. General terms are enough: “I was assaulted”, “it happened when I was a child”, “it was someone I trusted”. Detailed accounts can be genuinely retraumatising for other survivors reading, and they’re never necessary to receive support.
Don’t ask anyone what happened. Not out of curiosity, not to help. If they want to say more, they will.
Don’t name the person who abused you, or their workplace, school or organisation. This protects you legally as much as anything — and if reporting is something you’re considering, public statements can complicate it. A specialist service can advise you properly.
How to use this category
You will be believed here. Nobody will ask what you were wearing, why you didn’t say something sooner, or whether you’re sure.
Survivors of any gender are welcome. Men and boys are abused too, and are often met with even more silence.
This is peer support, not therapy — please use the specialist services above alongside it.