A difficult subject for blogging: advice on sexual assault

I recently received an email from a person requesting advice on a difficult subject - that of sexual assault.  I experienced extremely mixed feelings about this email.  On one side, I felt good knowing that I have regular followers who respected my opinion, but on the other side, it was because a bad thing had happened and that person felt I would understand that they turned to me.  

Without going into details, a woman had been mugged and raped.  The woman confided this to a friend who had a hard time digesting the situation and how to react. The friend emailed me for advice on what to do.

I thought a lot about the email and finally responded with my advice.  I continued thinking about this even more because I felt that there are others out there who were probably in the same situation, hence something worth blogging about.  

I don’t have any medical, psychological or legal training. I can only offer my advice, as a woman.  In cases of sexual assault I’m not sure there are any answers that are wholly right or wrong, as its such a personal issue.  There are, however, a few things I think would help most sexual assault victims in general. 

Here’s the advice I offered:

• 1) Be compassionate, non-judgmental, discrete, and a friend when needed.  Don’t force her to do anything.  It has to be her decision if she goes to the police.

• 2) Encourage her to be checked out by a doctor.  The possibility of physical injury, pregnancy and STI/STD require attention.  Many injuries can be treated better if caught early.  The window for STI’s is 6 months.  There is a hassle free clinic in downtown Toronto at Church/Gerrard that would be sensitive to this situation.    

• 3) Encourage her to talk to a professionally trained therapist or psychologist.  It should help with emotional healing and there is assured confidentially in medical situations.  OHIP covers this type of medical treatment.                                                          

• 4) Check her credit report for identity theft.  If she lost any personal info in the assault her financial status could be victimized too.  She may want to consider changing the locks on her doors if keys & ID were stolen.  

Those are my 4 recommendations; my opinion on how to handle this difficult situation.   

I’ve always been disgusted by sexual assault.  As a prostitute, I know that sex is practically always available to men - there is no need to force sex on another person.  

I hope everybody stays safe out there. And I hope you all can enjoy the beauty of sex without having it tainted by the bad.