To the Woman Who Survived Sexual Violence

 

You didn’t ask for this letter.
You didn’t ask for what happened to you, either.

 

But I want you to know—
we believe you.
We honor you.
And we will never ask you to explain, justify, or relive what you survived
in order to be held with tenderness.

 

What happened to you was not your fault.
Not even a little.
No matter what you were wearing, how old you were, what you drank,
or how many times you said “no” with your body,
even if your mouth was silent.

 

You have nothing to prove.
You don’t have to remember everything.
You don’t have to remember anything.
You don’t have to be “over it.”

 

You get to be messy here.
You get to be angry, soft, frozen, loud, numb, shaky, tired, tender.
You get to be.

 

This retreat was not built on empty platitudes or polished healing stories.
It was built by women who know what it’s like
to carry the weight of what should never have been asked of us.

 

You are not broken.
You are not ruined.
You are not alone.