Telling someone you have been abused

It can take a long time before you tell someone you have been sexually abused.

Some people may want to talk about it straight away.

It can be difficult to tell someone what happened to you.

You can use your own words to say what happened.

You may get upset when you talk about what happened.

You can get help with how you feel.

If you tell someone you have been abused, it can help you to feel better. 

The person you tell can help you get the support you need.

If the abuse is still going on, or it happened recently, the person you tell can make sure you are safe. 

If you tell someone, you can stop abuse happening to you or to someone else. 

If you have been sexually abused, it is important to remember it was not your fault.

The next part of our sexual abuse guide is about who you tell when you have been sexually abused.

Or you can go back to the introduction to choose to go to a different part of the sexual abuse guide.