Reclaiming the Body: Support for Women Who’ve Experienced Sexual Abuse

Reconnecting With the Body: Healing After Sexual Trauma.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 29,670 rape cases were registered in India in 2023, including 852 involving minors. Rajasthan recorded the highest number, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

For many survivors, the challenge doesn’t end when the assault does. Trauma can leave the body feeling unfamiliar, unsafe, or even hostile. As Kabir in Made in Heaven 2 puts it: “The wounds will heal, even though the scars remain. After all, the body remembers, maybe to make sure the soul never forgets.”

Disconnection From the Body
Sexual trauma can disrupt the sense that the body belongs to oneself. Counselling psychologist Dr. Devanshi Desai explains that trauma often leads to “protective dissociation,” where survivors instinctively numb bodily awareness. This might show up as avoiding mirrors, feeling disconnected from touch, or perceiving parts of the body as foreign or defective.

Therapist Deepti Chandy adds that survivors may feel their body “betrayed” them, carrying shame or blame internally, even though the assault was not their fault. This can manifest as weight changes, neglecting appearance, or trying to look “less attractive” to feel safer.

Emotional and Physical Challenges of Reconnection
Because trauma is stored in the body, attempts to reconnect can trigger old threat responses. Survivors may experience shame, grief, self-criticism, or ambivalence, while physically noticing numbness, tension, fatigue, or dissociation.

Chandy notes extremes in response: some avoid intimacy entirely, while others may seek it excessively, often as a way to reclaim control. Both stem from the same underlying trauma.

What Reclaiming the Body Means
Reclaiming the body isn’t about forcing confidence or self-love. It’s about gradually rebuilding agency. Dr. Desai describes it as “restoring autonomy and safety, learning to listen to the body with curiosity rather than fear.” Chandy frames it as “rebuilding a relationship with oneself based on care, safety, and respect.”

Integration takes time. Survivors are encouraged to move at their own pace, without pressure, performance, or expectation.

How Therapy Helps
Therapy often begins with stabilizing the nervous system through grounding exercises like breathwork, gentle stretching, and noticing environmental contact points. Mindful self-touch, guided by the survivor, helps widen comfort zones.

Pleasure is reintroduced only when the survivor feels ready, defined on their own terms. Chandy highlights the importance of somatic work, starting with self-administered touch or non-sexual physical contact to rebuild trust in the body.

Approaching Intimacy Safely
There’s no timeline for intimacy. Dr. Desai recommends starting with non-sexual closeness—eye contact, shared presence—and rehearsing boundaries with a partner. Chandy emphasizes emotional safety as the key marker of readiness.

Relearning Boundaries
Trauma often distorts the sense of what’s safe or allowed. Survivors rebuild trust through interoception—noticing bodily cues of discomfort—and practicing assertive language like “I’m not ready” or “I need to pause.” Boundaries gradually shift from feeling confrontational to grounding.

Healing Body Image and Self-Esteem
Trauma can affect body image and self-worth, leaving survivors feeling “damaged” or “unworthy.” Healing involves gentle movement, narrative reconstruction, and affirming identity outside the trauma. Small acts of care—choosing clothing that feels good, engaging in empowering movement, eating to nourish—help rebuild respect for the body.

A Gentle Reminder
Survivors don’t need to “move on.” Healing is about making a home in a body that survived what it should never have endured. Society’s role isn’t to rush the process but to ensure no one has to navigate it alone.