During May, we recognize Mental Health Awareness Month, encouraging conversations surrounding emotional well-being, healing, and support. At Stepping Stone shelter, we especially recognize the impact that domestic violence and sexual violence can have on a survivor’s mental and emotional health. The experience they have often leaves emotional scars that take time to heal and can impact a survivor’s relationships, work, and day-to-day life. It’s important to understand the intersection between violence and mental health to ensure survivors receive the support they require.
What Is Sexual Violence?
Sexual violence is any sexual activity that happens without consent. This includes forcing unwanted sexual activity, not asking for consent, restricting access to birth control, and sexual humiliation. It is a broader umbrella term, including rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment.
What Is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that one partner uses to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. This includes emotional abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse.
How Do Sexual and Domestic Violence Impact Mental Health?
The truth about abuse is that trauma doesn’t end when the abuse stops. Domestic violence and sexual violence are deeply traumatic for survivors and have a lasting impact. The body can remain in survival mode even after leaving an abusive environment. Anxiety, depression, panic attacks, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, or post-traumatic stress disorder may affect survivors of sexual and domestic violence. Survivors may also struggle with trust, emotional regulation, or feelings of shame and guilt. Healing isn’t linear, and certain things may trigger a survivor long after leaving an abusive situation.
Different forms of domestic abuse, like emotional or psychological abuse, have a hidden impact that doesn’t always appear as physical scars. Tactics such as constant criticism, intimidation, gaslighting, humiliation, and control can slowly erode a person’s confidence and sense of identity. Survivors may begin to question their own reality or believe they are unworthy of love, safety, or support. They are often isolated from friends, family, and support systems, making it even harder to seek help. Supporting a survivor’s mental health helps restore autonomy.
Sexual Violence And Mental Health
Survivors who have experienced sexual violence may have feelings of depression, PTSD, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or dissociation after an assault. One of the most harmful barriers is fear; fear of not being believed, being blamed, or reliving the trauma. Holding onto these feelings and carrying the weight of their experience all by themselves often deepens emotional suffering. This is why it’s so important to create spaces where survivors are believed, supported, and empowered. The best thing you can do for a survivor is to meet them with compassion instead of judgment.
Why Mental Health Support Is Important
Mental health support provides survivors with tools to process trauma, build coping skills, and reclaim a sense of safety. This is why we offer:
- Emotional Support & Coping Strategies
- Support Groups
- Counseling Resources
- Safety Planning
Supporting Survivors Beyond Awareness Month
Mental Health Awareness Month is an opportunity to understand that healing from domestic violence and sexual violence goes far beyond physical safety. It’s important to listen without judgment, advocate for accessible mental health resources, and support local shelters and organizations.
