“My name’s Renee and I’m wearing the teal necklace for PTSD, rape, and sexual assault. I was sexually assaulted as a little girl, forced to take naked photos at the age of 13 by an online predator who posted them online to other pedophiles, and raped when i was 17, 19, 20, and 22. The trauma i went through and the effects it had on my self worth, caused me to end up in several abusive relationships, develop severe anxiety about leaving my home, using drinking as a way to cope and affected my ability to function like a normal person. It took a long time for me to not only open up and talk about what i went through but to also admit what happened to me, that I had PTSD and seek out help to begin healing. To no longer be a victim but to finally become a survivor.
I’m no longer ashamed of what I’ve been through. If my story can help at least one person know they’re not alone, that what happened to them is not something to be ashamed of, that there is hope to heal and become a survivor, then i will have accomplished what i intended to with sharing my story.
The man who forced me to take photos is serving a sentence in federal prison, and my first rapist served a 10 year sentence for what he did to me.
Survivors do not need to be ashamed of what happened to them nor do they ever need to have an answer of why they were attacked. It’s not our fault. And our voices. Our stories. They matter. All of them.” @renee.mariie