Mapping the path to recovery after sexual violence

About the map

After sexual violence, the future can feel dark and uncertain. The mind is overwhelmed, and the body may feel numb or frozen. We created this map to help set things in motion again—to reopen a horizon of possibilities and recovery.

Pressing Charges Highway is often the only path offered to people who have experienced sexual violence. Why? The answer is terribly simple: Because most of the time, we don’t know what else to offer. At the very least, however, survivors deserve clear information about what lies ahead if they decide to press charges, so they can make an informed choice about whether or not they want to follow that route. In the current state of the judicial system, filing a complaint is often experienced by victims as an additional layer of violence. Criminal justice is not designed to repair harm done to victims; its primary aim is to punish offenders and protect the state. Given this reality, what other paths toward justice and repair might exist? This map is an attempt to explore that question. This subjective proposal is an invitation to explore new avenues, to discover unexpected paths to healing, and to share these experiences with others.

The most common needs of victims are: the need for safety; the need to be heard; the need for recognition; the need for compensation; and the need to give meaning from a societal perspective (guarantees that the violence will not be repeated). There is no single path to healing, however. Each person moves at their own pace and carries their own story. You are therefore invited to wander through this map in whatever way resonates with you. Use it as inspiration—to reflect, to start conversations, and to imagine your own path toward recovery.

This map was conceived, designed, and produced as part of the project Traverser / Transcender by the non-profit organisation Loooops. 

N.B. What do we mean by justice?
On this map, we use the word justice in its broadest sense. It does not refer only to the legal system, but to the many different forms justice can take. All of these dimensions come together here. Justice can be, at different times or all at once, a process, an ideal, a need, a feeling, an institution, or a means.