Great big hugs . i'm so sorry you've stumbled upon this and been hurt by it. No one can say what happened to you wasn't as devastating as what happened to someone else. Stay true to yourself and honor yourself. Resist letting others define you or your experience. i know it's incredibly hard because we tend to be so unsure of ourselves after being violated. Your thoughts and feelings matter more than someone else trying to tell you how much they should matter.

It's unfortunate the authors attempted to rate various acts in severity because everyone experiences every act differently with different degrees of traumatization. Your experience is as valid and as devastating as you feel it was/is. Once trust is violated, the world changes regardless of its cause.

Additional warning: The book referenced is extremely triggering. It is a DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) booklet put out by the US Govt. It includes graphic examples of various types of abuse and, unfortunately, also attempts to rank them in order of severity. Without reading the entire document (117 pages), it's difficult to determine whether surrounding context changes the impact of such ranking. However, regardless of intent, it is easily understood how upsetting this material can be to survivors of various types of abuse and how it may lead many to feel as if their experiences are somehow less important than others.