Health & Fitness
Under the condition of anonymity, I interviewed a twenty-six-year-old North African/Arab gay Muslim woman. I have something in common with today’s guest: at age eighteen, we both moved from countries that are outwardly religiously conservative to the United States for University. Within only a few days of her arrival, my guest was severely abused by her partner – a woman with whom she had been cultivating a long-distance relationship for months before leaving home. My guest’s story demonstrates that every single one of our personal histories is the ever-significant container for our ability to consent to sexual activity and for our capacity to clearly interpret and process victimization experiences as rape or assault – both in real time, and on the road to recovery. This story serves as an important reminder that perpetrators and victims can belong to any gender, and that, bluntly put, you can be raped by your significant other.