Part of the reason I wanted to share my story was to be an aid for women who experience this awful crime. One of the biggest challenges I faced was navigating the system I thought was supposed to be there for my protection.
In many ways, I went to the police blindly without any knowledge of the system and the crimes being committed against me. In no way am I saying you should avoid the police before being prepared because personal safety is paramount. However in the next few posts I would like to discuss some key things I wish I would have considered before reporting to police.
Part 1 – Getting Support
Choosing to get support is the single most important thing you can do to help support you through the process of engaging with the legal system while also healing from your experience.
Tell a trusted friend
Tell someone you trust what has happened or is happening. Trust is key when feeling supported. A trusted friend will not blame you, minimize, or downplay your experience. A trusted friend will support you and should help you stay safe.
Women’s Organizations
One of the major benefits of connecting with women’s organizations is that they develop relationships with, and offer information about, other service providers such as therapists, counsellors, lawyers, police and other community agencies. They can link you with these services for further support or legal action.
In addition to the support and information these organizations provide to individual women, women’s organizations engage in important political, social and advocacy work. They are part of community committees working to enhance access to justice for women and changing public attitudes about violence against women.
I strongly recommend that you seek therapeutic support in some way. In my personal experience, I didn’t seek support until I had visited the police 3 times but the support I received once I did start accessing it was invaluable. Therapy enabled me to safety plan effectively, but more importantly it helped move me toward naming my experience and ultimately gave me the strength I needed to hold someone other than myself accountable.
You will not be able to heal in isolation.
Whether you report your experience, take any legal action or not, you need to take care of yourself.
Hope In Hiding 
Excellent advise, I think it is very important for women to feel supported. We do certainly need to take care of ourselves, and I think that we as women as so busy taking care of others we may forget to take care of ourselves.
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