Reclaiming Her Strength: A Young Survivor’s Journey
Oliwia, a young survivor we supported, reached out to us after finishing university. Looking back at her extraordinary feat of earning her degree, finding her passion, and reclaiming her space as a young woman and survivor, we are beyond hopeful to see what the future brings for her.
She thanked RSVP in her final dissertation for supporting her through a difficult time. And in return, we also thank her for being a beacon of hope for every survivor who has struggled or is struggling after trauma. Healing is realising there are lighter days ahead.
Following is Oliwia’s experience in her own words:
People say turning 16 is just so sweet, but for me it wasn’t it was the worst year ever. I’ve had the worst thing happen to me that I didn’t know was possible or that men like that actually existed. Yes, you hear the stories, feels like a myth, but those disgusting creatures actually exist.
My story is that I was raped, sexually assaulted and threatened by the same man. Words can’t begin to describe how I felt. I was disgusted in my own skin, especially since I’d lost my virginity through rape. This wasn’t something I wanted to experience and knowing that my ‘cherry had popped’ was traumatising, especially at the age of 16 when all I wanted to do was become a famous actress. I lost everything, my passion for acting and drama, and isolating myself from everyone. For nine months, I didn’t want to talk about what had happened.
The first steps to healing that I was offered was therapy. Of course, the last thing you need right now was trust new people and open up about what has happened. I took the leap and started attending therapy. Yes it was scary, yes it was a nightmare at the start and yes it wasn’t because I didn’t know where to start from and open up. It felt scary but it was baby steps, coming in regularly, opening up and trusting people. It felt good letting the emotions, thoughts and the traumatising memories out.
Additionally I was given an advocate that would help with the Police and any documents that needed to be doing, help with any issues or concerns we’ve had. This was useful because my advocate was able to help me fill out a form to report the Police Officers I’ve had, and it came out they ran my case wrong from the very start.
Through out the therapy, came out my case has been closed and there won’t be a court case. I felt devastated, lost, and felt like I let myself 16 year old self down because Police didn’t do much, changed the Police officer half way through and they didn’t look at if he (the abuser) had done anything previously. When I heard the news my advocate helped me to fill out a form for someone to review my case again, and came out there was more victims and that it was going to court.
Thanks to RSVP, when I heard that it was going to court I was given extra therapy, help and advice.
Throughout the extra year and a half, my advocate was able to show me how the court will look like, help me fill out the forms if needed and be there in court for me. It felt like RSVP was just more than therapy and people, but felt like they were part of my family that supported me at my darkest points in my life. Where I thought I didn’t have any more strength, they were there to support me and told me to carry on, even at points where I’ve thought I wanted to give up on life and where I’ve felt like everything was my fault for everything that happened.
RSVP helped me realise healing didn’t have to happen all at once. They taught me recovery was about taking small steps and celebrating even the smallest achievements that felt impossible at the time. For example, something as simple as showering with music on helped distract my thoughts and made me feel more comfortable in my own skin. They encouraged patience and showed me how to make everyday tasks feel less overwhelming.
Over time these small steps made a big difference. Things that once seemed impossible gradually became manageable and I regained confidence trust and a sense of control over my life.
RSVP is more than just therapy and a place of support but will be there with you for life and I’m super grateful to have been able to get support from them.
You can follow Oliwia’s bold, vibrant life online on Instagram via her username @oliwiawudarwoicz