It may seem strange that someone who is the victim of a crime like rape or sexual abuse would feel guilt and blame themselves, but it is not uncommon. In a series of cartoons, Dr Nina Burrows looks at why victims feel such guilt, how they blame themselves as a coping mechanism, and how society tends to seek ways to blame victims for what happened to them, because no one wants to face the reality that sexual violence can happen to anyone and that there are regular people living among us who are abusers and rapists.
You can check out the full cartoon here: http://www.upworthy.com/its-an-awful-awful-feeling-and-its-one-of-the-most-basic-ways-survivors-protect-themselves?c=hpstream
Dr Burrowes also has a book called ‘The Courage To Be Me’ , which documents her journey as a survivor of sexual violence. You can find out more about it and her work here: http://ninaburrowes.com/index.php/books/the-courage-to-be-me/