ZERLINA MAXWELL—How not to be a Trigger, how to be careful and compassionate
What actually happened was this: I was triggered. Survivors of sexual assault, many of whom are formally diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, can flash back to the trauma of their sexual assaults by all sorts of things in the world around them. The problem is getting more attention than ever right now as universities struggle to amend sexual-assault policies that often protect perpetrators and harm victims who continue to see them around. But in the broader world, how can we deal with this problem? What are common triggers for survivors of sexual assault, and how as a compassionate society can we avoid them?