[Curiosity77]

I have so much popping up on my facebook feed about the student at Stanford who was caught in the act raping an unconscious woman and he only got 6 months in jail for it.

I want to know what is happening, and be part of the conversation, because i have lots of feminist and activist friends, and their posts are awesome. But i feel really unsettled. A few months ago there was a different story about a guy getting off after assaulting multiple women. That was all over the media and my facebook. I had a lot of anxiety and flashbacks from reading that stuff - and a lot of well meaning people asking my opinion, without knowing it was triggering.

I haven't experienced what the woman in the current story went through, but it is absolutely awful. Some of the stuff in the story from a couple months ago was exactly like things i've experienced. Which is i think why the last one was worse, with flashbacks and crying. This one is just causing me anxiety, and i'm sad, and also really angry that these guys just get away with this crap.

I don't know... Just feel like crying

[FreeLadyForever]

All the victim blaming with Amber Heard triggered me as well. That is why people are afraid to speak out. But there are many people that are enraged. Social media has helped victim support. There is much more that needs to be done but more and more people have a way to speak out.

[TooManyIssuesMolly]

I know this is an old post, but I was also very triggered by the Stanford case even though my situation wasn't similar at all & it's lingered with me since. I think part of it was the injustice of seeing him get barely a slap on the wrist, part of it was the victim blaming reactions from others & part of it was also guilt for never going to the authorities with my own case.
I remember crying to my boyfriend after the sentancing and being very distraught for a week or two after.
I also looked at the rape stats for my rapists college right after (not a good idea) & saw how much higher than the national average they were, and that's only the reported incidents at a school of around 3000..
Even though I have no physical evidence & my case is not strong at all, I worry a lot that by not coming forward I'm just enabling him to continue preying on others & if he ever does get reported, that he'll get a super light sentence like Turner.

I'm sorry for what you went through, and I hope this doesn't dredge up any negative emotions. For some people these cases are just the news, for survivors it's added anxiety & trauma.

[Shaly78]

After you decide what is important stay close to what you feel that you do in a situation like that.

[Bolivar83]

Also feel triggered, vulnerable when I hear/read/see these reports. I don't want to close my eyes and hide, but sometimes it's best for me to avoid newsfeeds, block posts that seem to bring up these themes. I've learned to be ok with cotton-wooling myself when I need a bit of respite. I give you points for wanting to stay informed and participate, and that you seem to know when you need to pull back a little.

Take care