Nikki Garcia is a WWE Hall of Famer & TV personality, entrepreneur, NYT best-selling author, and survivor. She recently recounted aspects of her survivor story to RAINN as an advocate. Read Nikki’s story and take action today.
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I am a survivor, and together, we can inspire change.
For a really long time, I wished that I had been able to just let go of what happened to me and move on. But the reality is that trauma from sexual violence leaves deep scars that even the toughest person can struggle to overcome.
In high school, I was raped twice. When it happened, I felt so ashamed and blamed myself and wanted to keep it a secret, even from my twin sister. Keeping that secret caused me to lose my self-confidence and allowed other people to disrespect me because I felt like, somehow, I deserved it.
When the #MeToo movement happened, I felt like, if I'm having these younger women look up to me, maybe I can help them and have them not hold onto this as long as I did. It wasn't until I was 28 and in a relationship that someone started to teach me how to respect myself. That's how long I held on to things and felt I had no control or boundaries.
I remember looking at my sister, Brie, and thinking, “Oh, she has boundaries, she treats herself with such respect. How do I not have this?” And I knew why. But I held onto it for so long. When I look back at decisions I made based off of it, I wish I could have heard my words now, and be like, “You're going to be okay."
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Nikki Garcia
To learn more about Nikki’s journey, follow her on Instagram @nikkigarcia or read her co-memoir with sister Brie, Incomparable.
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