What is it like to be triggered? Survivors of sexual violence explain

Life After Sexual Violence: being triggered of instances of sexual assault and rape can occupy the seemingly mundane space of everyday life for victims

“It was a trauma, and it’s a trauma that will have permanent impact on my life,” says Winnie M Li, a film producer and novelist, who was raped in 2007 in Northern Ireland.

Winnie is just one of the seven people who feature in Life After Sexual Violence, a seven part series which throws a spotlight on the reality of life after a sex attack.

In this episode, the group of seven survivors describe how triggers of their experiences of rape can resurface in the small, mundane details of everyday life, months and years after it has happened.

Our participants include Emily Jacob, 44, who runs ReConnected Life, a coaching and community program for survivors of sexual violence; Tanaka Mhishi, 24, a writer from London; Imogen Butler-Cole, 40, an actor and performer with a solo stage show ‘Foreign Body’, about life after sexual assault; Sophie Yates Lu, 28, a campaigner from London; Winnie M Li, 38, a writer and film producer, whose new book ‘Dark Chapter’ won the Guardian’s “Not the Booker” prize; Faye White, 25, a journalist; Alex Bryce, 34, a political advisor.

If you have been a victim of sexual violence, you can find your local Rape Crisis organisation here if you are a woman seeking support and services, or if you a man or a woman, through The Survivors’ Trust.