Unacknowledged rape: the sexual assault survivors who hide their trauma – even from themselves

Surveys suggest a large proportion of women have experienced sexual assaults that they labelled as a misunderstanding. This has serious psychological repercussions and increases the chance of being victimised again

The morning after it happened, I said a cheery: Good morning," to my university roommate, as if nothing was wrong. How was last night?" she asked. So fun," I lied. The truth was that the night before I had feared for my life.

I didn't articulate it, but deep down I knew that what had happened had felt violating, degrading and not what I signed up for. Yet it took me a whole decade to realise what had really happened: I had been sexually assaulted.