comics

Comic: I'm a Sexual Assault Survivor.

by Suzy X
Published on April 8, 2013 at 11:29am

April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month—the right time for artist Suzy X to put together this comic about her experiences as a survivor. 

Comic about being a sexual assault survivor

 

by Suzy X
View profile »

Suzy Exposito is a writer, illustrator and musician in Brooklyn, New York. She is currently the online producer at Rolling Stone. She was previously the assistant editor at MTV Iggy and has contributed to Pitchfork, Rookie Mag, and Bitch. She volunteers regularly at Girls Rock! camp and once fronted NYC punk band Shady Hawkins. She graduated from the New School in 2011 with a BA in Writing and a minor in Gender Studies.

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17 Comments Have Been Posted

Thank you.

Anonymous replied on

Thank you.

Wow, this is so wonderful.

grlpenguin replied on

Wow, this is so wonderful. I've just started training to work with other survivors and I'm wondering if it would be ok to use this as a resource for when I do start counselling in a couple of months?

sorry, just to clarify,

grlpenguin replied on

sorry, just to clarify, wonderful in that it puts so much of what I feel in to words. I'm with the other commenters who don't identify with their life being ruined. Of course it changes you as a person, forever, but when you get through those periods of darkness you (I) take positivity from still being alive, and having moments of joy, and just knowing that I'm strong. I'm another person who gains a lot of her strength from the arts. I also gain so much strength from the solidarity of hearing other survivors not being defeated, and hope to help others to reach a similar place.

So much truth in such a

Anonymous replied on

So much truth in such a little comic. Thanks.

This pretty much sums it up.

Anonymous replied on

This pretty much sums it up. Thank you for showing that it is not easy to forget trauma. EMDR has helped me enormously, but my assault still pops up when i least expect it. Creative and loving distractions are best. Gardening is my favorite.

Thank you

Marianna Symeonides replied on

I am really surprised at how much this touched me (and, honestly, triggered me, but in a cathartic way). I've always felt alienated by stories of how sexual trauma can ruin someone's life. I completely understand how it can, but that just wasn't my experience, and sometimes it makes me wonder - was what I went through really that bad?
But this comic really, *really* hits home. It shows how it can affect you in small(er) ways too. Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you, so much. I think

Anonymous replied on

Thank you, so much.
I think we, as survivors, can all recognize this - the little, small, subtle ways in which our days are changed and affected; the ways in which our thinking is shifted. I feel like others have this idea that it's one big terrible thing (and ... yes, it is.) but that we don't move on after it. We do; it's just that everything's coloured a tiny bit differently, afterwards.

Oh gosh, I'm not sounding very coherent there, even to myself. I'm sorry about that. But still - thank you for this.

You sound plenty coherent to

Tasha Turner replied on

You sound plenty coherent to me.

Believe in yourself

Berit Westby replied on

You are sounding completely coherent to me. Actually I think you expressed it very succinctly. My best regards to you.

<3

Anonymous replied on

<3

trigger warning

Anonymous replied on

This is so true, one minute you are fine then something reminds you of what happened. Steps help on those days to distract you

This is so true. It's like

Samantha replied on

This is so true. It's like it comes out of nowhere. At first I didn't know how to get out of the funks when they hit, but I too have learned my distractions and encouragements. Thank you for speaking up!!

Thank you. This gives me more

Katie215 replied on

Thank you. This gives me more strength. And I know that I'm not alone.

Survivor!

Anonymous replied on

Bountiful. Insightful Thoughtful. Courageous Hopeful Beautiful. Intelligent. Talented. Caring. Helpful. Thank you for a bitch of a post to grace walls, bulletin boards of every shelter, school, home....and all our mindful hearts.

So true

Tasha Turner replied on

Wow you've really captured it all in this comic. I know some of my triggers but so much of the time I don't know they are going to show up in something I'm reading be it a book, blog, or comment/post on social media. Thanks

Thank You. Comforting Post.

Sharon replied on

It's great to know there are people out there writing about this stuff and offering comfort. This post was very comforting and encouraging! keep up the great work. We need more articles out there on this topic! - <a href="http://bestgolfgpswatch.com">Best Golf GPS Watch</a>

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