Teenage Kicks: Coping After Rape

*Trigger warning: Jenny (not her real name) tells me about her experience of being raped in her teens.

 

“How I Coped After Rape in my Teens”

 

This episode of the Teenage Kicks podcast is an incredibly personal interview. Jenny talks about what happened, how she felt about herself after the incident, and how it felt to go through legal proceedings following a rape or a sexual assault.

She also tells me about how – with the support of her friends – she recovered from her experience, and believes it has helped make her who she is today – a strong woman who owns her own business, a good parent, and a better friend than she might otherwise have been.

I hope you find inspiration from Jenny’s story, and especially from her recovery after rape.

If you’ve been raped, or if your child is dealing with the trauma of a sexual assault, the NHS has lots of signposts to organisations that specialise in supporting you. Rape Crisis has a live chat helpline, and Victim Support helps you find ways to move beyond what has happened.

 

I found these words from Jenny incredibly moving, and I hope that her outlook on life inspires someone to gather the strength needed to recover from a sexual assault:

“I accept it as part of my story. You can get to that place, and I think we learn a lot more from the darkest parts of our stories than we do the happy times.”

 

Where to listen

You can find the episode in your usual podcast app, or if you prefer, you can listen online or below.

 

Thank you so much for listening! Subscribe now to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear all my new episodes. I talk to some fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers – including losing a parent, becoming disabled, and being hospitalised with mental health problems – and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.

I’d love it if you’d rate and review the podcast on iTunes too – it would really help other people to find it. You can also find more from me on parenting teenagers on Instagram and Twitter @iamhelenwills.

This episode is sponsored by Blue Microphones, who gave me the brilliant Yeticaster for the recording of the podcast.

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Teenage Kicks podcast image for an episode on rape

 

Join me in the Teenage Kicks Facebook group!

 

If you’re a parent of teens it can be difficult to know where to go for advice, to vent, or just to talk. So I’ve made the Teenage Kicks Facebook group, for all parents of teenagers to chat in a safe space. You can request to join by clicking the button below. It’s a private group and everyone in there will be a parent of teenagers.

And if you’re stuck for how to keep your teenager busy and engaged, this list of things for teens to do might be helpful. 

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