If you have been raped/sexually assaulted, please reach out to your local authorities. It does not matter how long ago it was. It does not matter if they are a family friend or even family. They need to be held accountable and receive the correct punishment.

WARNING:Disturbing content upcoming. Proceed with caution.<br><br>wow, that title might be the most self explanatory title I ever created in my life. Do not say I did not warn you.<br><br>When I was 14, I was raped by someone I thought was a friend. I was hanging out with some of my friends at a friends house. Of course, I knew these people very well. Well, at least I thought so. One of my friends, who I had known for close to 10 years asked me to go outside with him as I had recently undergone a huge change in my life which required me to do something which I cannot say on here. Anyways, he took me out to the backyard where he raped me. I did not scream, I did not fight. I was frozen in fear and I did not know what to do. It hurt so bad that it felt like my insides were being ripped in half. After he was done, I went back inside in a daze. Of course, I did not say anything to anyone. I was so afraid that if I said anything, the people I cared about would hate me. So I stayed silent for what felt like years. One of my friends noticed a change in me and asked if I was ok. I denied it, but he could tell that I was not being truthful. Eventually he managed to get the truth out of me. He convinced me to tell the cops because ignoring something like that would not make it go away. A few days later, I went to the cops and reported it. They took a statement and eventually arrested the guy. I did not bring him to trial and I do not regret it. I was so emotionally destabilized that I was cutting, getting extremely drunk and high, and was contemplating suicide. I did not have the mental capacity to go through with a trial and I did not want to drag my friends through it either.<br><br>The reason I am posting on here today is that I see so many people on here saying that they are too afraid to report their rape, or they feel it is too late to do so. Listen to me. It doesn't matter how long ago it was. It doesn't matter when and where it was. If you want to heal, please, PLEASE reach out to your local authorities and report it. They need to be held accountable for what they have done. Trust me, if you do not, you will regret it and you will be wondering every day what would have happened if you had reported it. You will feel like you are protecting your rapist by staying silent. That will eat away at you. Take it from me. I can be very stubborn so I am sure that I am not the only person who feels this way. If you do not do anything about it, it will haunt you for the rest of your life and you will never be able to heal.<br><br>EDIT: I expected this post to maybe get 5-10 upvotes since I have no karma on this account and the vast majority of my posts have less than 10 upvotes. I am so touched by all of the support and love that I have received from this. You all mean so much to me. Thank you so much for being so sweet and kind. All of these messages I am receiving are just proving that there are still good people in this world. Thank you :)