Sexual Assault: My Story

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This story contains depictions of sexual violence and victim-blaming.

By Jack Knoxville

I was 12 the first time it happened. A boy I knew asked if I would let him use my phone to call his parents. I didn’t hesitate to invite him in, even though I was home alone. We were the same age. I’d known him for years.

He got on top of me and stole my virginity before I even knew what virginity was. No one had talked to me about sex, let alone sexual assault.

I was scared. I thought it was my fault for letting him in. I felt dirty. I was ashamed. I was terrified at the thought of getting into trouble with my already abusive family.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I wanted to talk to him. I needed to figure out why he did what he did. I needed help processing.

The next day, it got worse. I was introduced to slut-shaming. EVERYONE KNEW that we had had sex, and they’d already begun shaming me.

I grew up in an abusive household. I didn’t open up to my family voluntarily, but they found out — and when they did, they let me know it was my fault and shamed me even more.

I left home at 14 and, unfortunately, have faced many more acts of sexual violence over the years.

It’s time to stop talking about sexual assault as though it’s an issue that only cis women face.

  • 47 percent of transgender people are sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime, according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.
  • Among people of color, American Indian (65 percent), multiracial (59 percent), Middle Eastern (58 percent), and Black (53 percent) survey respondents were most likely to have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
  • Transgender people face some of the highest numbers of sexual assault experienced by any community.

Ever since the birth of the #MeToo movement, I’ve felt a sense of empowerment as a survivor of sexual assault. I’m the first transgender man to run for political office in the state of Tennessee who is also Latinx and on the autism spectrum. I’m a patient, advocate, and paid digital organizer with Planned Parenthood and I too am a survivor of sexual assault. Planned Parenthood was there for me when I needed hormone therapy. And they are there for millions of folks like me who’ve also experienced sexual violence.

If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, here are a few places to find support: