Over the past year, we have seen so much media coverage of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual trauma. It’s easy to dismiss the news stories as part of a political agenda or too much ado about nothing—but to so many of us, these news stories touch on something deeply personal and painful. Our hurt isn’t about an agenda. Our hurt isn’t an exaggeration.
Since I’ve last written about unwanted sexual attention, so many women of courage have come forward to share their stories of sexual harassment and assault in relation to the church. In some cases, we’ve learned of how a church or church-related organization has responded to a woman’s story. In other cases, women have shared about unwanted sexual attention that came from a church leader or that happened in a church.
I haven’t decided yet if I have something to say that can add to what these women’s voices have already said. However, I do know that every time I see one of these stories, I am reminded that so many women have borne the weight of sexual trauma.
Today I’d like to direct you to some posts in my archives about sexual trauma.
Childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault
This series is specifically for women who have survived childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault. After I drafted the posts, I asked for input from a friend who has survived both childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault as an adult. She has spent time working with other survivors. Her suggestions made this series so much better.
- Trapped by Trauma – Past sexual trauma creates challenges in the marriage bed. Know that there is hope.
- Shame, Guilt, and the Gift of Sexuality – Do we allow ourselves to continue as victims, when we instead could be reaching out to grab the mantle of survivor?
- ‘Tis the Season – Healing from sexual trauma is likely to be a season rather than just a moment.
- Beautiful in Its Time – Healing is possible! Your sexual relationship with your husband can be so beautiful.
Sexual harassment and assault
These other posts address sexual trauma in a more general way—harassment, assault, manipulation, and more. They aren’t a series, but they all fit together. In these posts, I encourage you to see healing and I suggest positive steps to take when you are overwhelmed by news stories that remind you of difficult things you’ve experienced.
- Mending the Remnants of Brokenness – Take steps to heal.
- Lessons from Sexual Harassment – Have experiences with sexual harassment affected your marriage bed?
- Six Things I Do When Sexual Assault Is in the News – How can we respond when sexual harassment and assault are in the news?
- Why #MeToo Matters – My thoughts about #MeToo: can a hashtag really make a difference?
- 8 Ways to Support Other Women in an Age of #MeToo – How can we support women who experience unwanted sexual attention?
- #NotAgain: Resources for Moving Forward from #MeToo – Until we learn how to work past our discomfort, we are going to see #MeToo-type movements come back again and again and again.
- Sexual Harassment #ustoo – Okay, so this one isn’t one of my blog posts. It is, however, one of our podcast episodes. We shed real tears as we recorded this one, and I struggled while editing the episode. I wanted to include it here because it fits so well with these other links and because I am part of the episode.
Sexual Healing and Wholeness
In addition to sexual trauma, many of us carry wounds that have affected us sexually. This year I’ve had a series of guest posts on sexual healing and wholeness. Although they aren’t specifically about sexual trauma, I wanted to include them here in case you are in search of healing.
- Sexual Healing and Wholeness (series introduction)
- Healing After a Husband’s Affair, April Truitt
- What I Learned About Sex After My First Marriage Failed, Julie Sibert
- How Sexual Objectification and Modest Dressing Negatively Affected My Marriage, Keelie Reason
- Healing Separately Let Us Re-Build Together, Kim Pullen
- He Can’t Really Be Happy with My Body, J. Parker
- Three Biblical Rules for Sexual Healing after Addiction, Leah Grey
- How She Uncovered the Baggage from Having Sex with Her Husband Before Marriage, Ruth Buezis
We should have a few more posts in the series this fall.
Image credit | sasint at pixabay.com
I've moved! While you can peruse the archives here, I am no longer posting at The Forgiven Wife.
Please join me at Honeycomb & Spice.
Ladies, if you're interested in joining me for a study of Juli Slattery's new book God, Sex, and Your Marriage, time is running out! Our study begins with introductions on February 26, 2023, but the study will be open to join until March 5.
Thanks for putting together this collection, Chris. I just shared it with someone who wrote to me about sexual trauma.
Thank you for passing it along, Gaye. I hope it is helpful.