Hello again, The Phoenix:

Can you tell that as a fellow SSA survivor I'm now reading all your posts on the topic?

I loved this line: "I came face to face with perhaps the most pernicious aspect of being an incest survivor — the condemnation of silence." I think you nailed the top weapon of sexual abusers--silence. I actually wrote a book about my SSA experience and titled it: "Everyone Was Silent: A memoir."

I wanted to let you know about a couple of SSA resources that have been helpful to me. An organization called 5waves.org was formed by five women affected by SST and SSA. Two are survivors, three are mothers with children involved in SST/SSA. This group/organization is fantastic! They raise awareness, present at conferences, have a blog and resources on their website, and more. They also created a Discord site for affected survivors and parents. Oh, and there is a podcast called #siblings too. They're always looking for survivors to be interviewed. In addition, if you're on Facebook, there is a closed Peer Support Group for SSA survivors. I believe there's a link on the 5waves.org homepage.

Personally, I'm trying to do what I can to educate the world on the topic. I post about sibling abuse--all three types--on LinkedIn and Instagram (@writingdianet). I speak at community events. And I'm a body safety educator in public schools in my state. Just this year I gathered the courage to start telling the hundreds of middle schoolers I speak to annually that my abuse was at the hands of my older brother. Typically, their auditory response was extremely palpable. One time I had a teacher walk by me and whisper, "Your experience is my experience." Communicating on the topic of one's own sexual abuse isn't for everyone, but I've found it liberating and satisfying. You're a really good writer. Phoenix. If you are interested in writing a guest blog post for my website, I'd appreciate it so much!