Supporting Survivor Sexualities Talking to Youth About Sexual Expression

Sex and sexuality are important and integral parts of most young people’s lives, and survivors of sexual abuse and assault are no exception. In fact, survivors may find it more necessary to explore their sexual identity and more complex to navigate engaging in sexual activity. This may be due to real, projected, or feared impacts of sexual assault on aspects of sexuality, including sexual identity, sexual relationships, and sexual experiences. As advocates, it’s crucial we provide space for survivors to process sex and sexuality after experiencing sexual violence.

The Advocacy Station resource Supporting Survivor Sexualities was designed to increase advocates' skills and comfort level when talking to survivors about sex.

You can get additional information from the webinar Let's Talk About Sex: Affirming Healthy Sexual Development and Expression. The webinar covers:

• The basics of healthy sexual development and teen and emerging adult sexual expression.
• Addresses myths about survivors of sexual abuse or assault and sexuality.
• Coaches participants to talk with young people they are helping about sex and sexuality more comfortably with a special focus on how to affirm the sexualities of those people, and help support them in creating their own wanted, safe and satisfying sexual lives.