Even if I didn't get the understanding and nurturing I needed, it is a relief to be told that I needed to be nurtured. Sexual assault is traumatic, but there is something particularly traumatic about having been assaulted by someone you knew, liked, and trusted. When the assailant is someone you know and even liked at one time, it's even more serious. No one expects to be treated that badly, and no one is prepared for the shock and trauma afterward. But it's also very hard to look into the eyes of someone you once trusted not to hurt you, someone you thought liked you, and see a mocking look in- stead, and realize that the person has hated you all along.
Sexual assault is a crime.
It is illegal. Again, I used to think that I had to fight my own battles, and that I was responsible for getting these kids to leave me alone. When I was fifteen, I happened to read a law book in the school library for a project, and accidently stumbled across a case in- volving sexual assault. It was a shock to me when I realized that what had been done to me was a criminal offence, and that I was entitled to protection under the law. The aftermath of the abuse has been equally complicated.