Sarah’s Blog

When I was sexually assaulted back in 2006, I was afraid to speak up. My now husband and I had just started to date when a close family member of his sexually assaulted me while my husband was out of the room.

When I shared what happened with my husband, he confided in me that he had seen this family member do the same thing to other women. When my husband confronted him, this individual just laughed and denied it.

This is the part where, looking back, I wish I had had the courage to speak up, to fight back, to protect myself. But I didn’t. Instead, for years I kept my mouth shut, trying to keep the peace. I kept telling myself that it was more important to have a good relationship with his family than to vocalize what had happened.

While he never touched me again, I suffered from years of verbal abuse from this family member. I felt hopeless, like the cycle would never end. I finally realized that I needed help.

Through therapy and support from KCSARC’s resources, I’ve learned to speak up and advocate for myself, build healthy boundaries, and remove certain members of my husband’s family from my life to protect my peace. I’ve learned to have healthy conversations with my husband about triggers and to advocate for what I need.

I am hugely grateful to KCSARC and my therapists for helping me to overcome this difficult obstacle. I have come out stronger on the other side. Even when things feel impossible, please know there are so many wonderful support resources waiting for you and you are not alone.