08/31/2026
Grief is not always about losing a person.
Sometimes grief looks like mourning a sense of safety, a relationship that changed, a childhood that was disrupted, a community that no longer feels the same, or a future we once imagined for ourselves.
For survivors of sexual abuse, grief can take make forms. Survivors may grieve that loss of trust, safety, autonomy, relationships, or parts of life that were changed by trauma. They may also grieve what should have happened but didn't: the protection they deserved, the support they needed, or the childhood they should have been able to experience.
Some grief is also difficult for others to recognize. There is no single way grief is supposed to look, and not every loss comes with closure.
On this National Grief Awareness Day, we're making space for the losses that aren't always visible, named, or understood. Your grief is real, your experience is still valid, and you don't have to navigate it alone.
