PHOTOGRAPH: PAL HANSEN. HAIR AND MAKE-UP: CARL STANLEY
Despite the power of #MeToo and other attempts to destigmatise sexual assault, it is, sadly, still shrouded by misconceptions that can prevent people accessing help. This can mean months, and possibly years, of struggling with flashbacks, anxiety, depression and difficulties in relationships.
Despite the media focusing on attacks by strangers, Rape Crisis tells us that, 90 per cent of the time, the perpetrator is known to the survivor before the sexual assault. The act may be coercive rather than overtly violent, unlike media stereotypes, leading us to think that it wasn’t really a crime.