Chicago Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (2)

Chicago Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

This is a group for survivors of childhood sexual abuse; it is also a group for sex positive, kink, and kinky supporters to talk, learn, and help one another. The group is meant to empower survivors to be more than just being strong & healthy, but also how to stay sex positive.

How can we have a healthy sex life without letting these experiences impact us in a negative way? We will discuss just that, and how our experiences affect us sexually, how we can use our kinks to deal with our trauma. We’ll talk about triggering consequences that can affect our experience & alternative methods that we can use in safe and consensual way.

If you are a survivor, the first step is to talk with someone about it; either a trusted friend &/or a counselor. If your lived experience is threatening to destroy your relationship, you should tell your partner about it. Therapy can help you understand the patterns in your life created by the abuse, including the ways it has been affecting you.

For someone attempting to face these complex issues the importance of having acceptance and unconditional, non-judgmental support cannot be understated. It is the abusive and negative interpersonal interactions that created the pain and it is the supportive and affirming ones that have the power to lift it. In general, childhood sexual abuse survivors tend to either pursue sex recklessly as adults or to forgo sex completely. This group is to help avoid this.

Abuse hurts, and discussing experiences with others who have had similar experiences, aids in the healing process. We will have monthly events. This group is open to people of all genders, dynamics, and sexual orientations. Allen Vandever will be painting a live narritive painting about how being sexual abused as a child effected him in his teens this will be the first in a series of 3 paintings exploring the effects of sexual abuse on a person sexuality and sex life.