Tara is a survivor of multiple sexual assaults and intimate partner sexual violence. “I’m a very open person with everything else, I’m very outgoing and I talk a lot. But when it came to these things, it took me years to say anything to anyone. The first time I talked about them was years later with my husband and after that with my therapist.”

It wasn’t until she was talking to a classmate that Barbara realized the experience wasn’t normal. It can be challenging for teens, who are new to dating, to recognize that sexual assault and abuse may be part of an abusive relationship