H
HeleneLica
Member
Hello everyone,
So my sister was sexually assaulted during a trip she went one year ago to visit her best friend who was participating in a student exchange program at that time. Her friend was basically very busy during my sister’s stay so one of those days my sister decided to hang out with a guy she had just met there. They just went for a morning coffee and then he suggested to go to his dorm room. Unfortunately, his intentions weren’t pure and my sister was forced to experience something so horrible, so devastating in a trip she has been dreaming for months. When she told her friend what had happened she wasn’t very supportive , as if she couldn’t realize this was a sexual assault. She couldn’t understand how serious things were. She never understood and never helped my sister. So when my sister came back she was totally broken. As we live in different cities we were only talking on the phone every day at that time . She hadn’t told me what happened until six months later, when she came to stay with me for a month. I was shocked. I could tell something was torturing her those six months as she was telling me that something bad happened on that trip but it never crossed my mind. Oh my god, it was horrific. I didn’t know how to react, I just cried and cried and hugged her. I was devastated. I still am. The thing is i didn’t know what was the best way to help her. So I decided not to ever bring it up again, I didn’t want her to remember and relive those moments. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing just pretending it never happened. I’m just scared. It’s very difficult, I think about it almost every day, what I should do or should have done because it’s been a year now. And I don’t want this to affect my relationship with my sister. I’m so afraid to ask her how she feels. I don’t know what to do. Can someone help me deal with this and advise me how to help my sister ?
So my sister was sexually assaulted during a trip she went one year ago to visit her best friend who was participating in a student exchange program at that time. Her friend was basically very busy during my sister’s stay so one of those days my sister decided to hang out with a guy she had just met there. They just went for a morning coffee and then he suggested to go to his dorm room. Unfortunately, his intentions weren’t pure and my sister was forced to experience something so horrible, so devastating in a trip she has been dreaming for months. When she told her friend what had happened she wasn’t very supportive , as if she couldn’t realize this was a sexual assault. She couldn’t understand how serious things were. She never understood and never helped my sister. So when my sister came back she was totally broken. As we live in different cities we were only talking on the phone every day at that time . She hadn’t told me what happened until six months later, when she came to stay with me for a month. I was shocked. I could tell something was torturing her those six months as she was telling me that something bad happened on that trip but it never crossed my mind. Oh my god, it was horrific. I didn’t know how to react, I just cried and cried and hugged her. I was devastated. I still am. The thing is i didn’t know what was the best way to help her. So I decided not to ever bring it up again, I didn’t want her to remember and relive those moments. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing just pretending it never happened. I’m just scared. It’s very difficult, I think about it almost every day, what I should do or should have done because it’s been a year now. And I don’t want this to affect my relationship with my sister. I’m so afraid to ask her how she feels. I don’t know what to do. Can someone help me deal with this and advise me how to help my sister ?