The Power of Survivors Supporting Fellow Survivors

When you choose to share, you invite connection, but also criticism.

You’ve probably noticed that we at ARISE have started being more public with our messaging and resources. This is in pursuit of our mission of helping all survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

And in producing more content, and sharing our mission more, we’re seeing an uptick in comments criticizing our work.

We welcome healthy critiques. They are what make us stronger as an organization and community. But sometimes, these comments are aimed at destruction and bullying.

In response to both healthy and unhealthy comments, we are starting a series called “Let’s Talk About It” where we break down evidence-based reasons why we do what we do at ARISE.

One comment we received, critiqued our staff members.

At ARISE, we offer peer support. Our staff and volunteers don’t just work in sexual assualt and domestic violence support—we’ve lived it. We’ve been in the rooms where our voices shook as we asked for help. We’ve known the exhaustion of clawing our way out of a situation we once thought would last forever.

Here is why peer support is effective:

Studies, like those explored by Campbell (2012), show that peer support changes lives. Survivors helping survivors. People with mental health conditions supporting others through the same journey. Not because we have all the answers, but because we’ve asked the same questions.

Because when someone says, "I feel like no one understands," we can look them in the eye and say, "I do."

Because healing doesn’t come from someone with a clipboard telling you what you should feel. It comes from someone saying, "I have felt that way too, and here’s how I found my way through it."

Because lived experience isn’t a weakness. It’s an expertise.

Campbell (2012) explored the impact of peer support among survivors of domestic violence, finding that engagement in these services led to several key benefits:

• Enhanced personal resilience and resourcefulness through the development of coping and life skills.

• Increased motivation, ownership, and self-belief in making and maintaining behavioral and attitudinal changes.

• Stronger social connections, reducing the risk of mental health issues and the recurrence of violence.

• Healthier future relationships, as survivors are exposed to and integrate non-abusive ways of relating to others.

These findings demonstrate that individuals who have walked a similar path can offer unique insights, validation, and support that traditional clinical approaches alone may not fully provide.

Moving Toward a More Informed Perspective

By reframing the conversation around domestic violence and mental health, we can shift away from misleading narratives that stigmatize individuals that both provide and need support.

The truth is, people who have struggled with mental health challenges, and battled domestic violence and sexual assault, are some of the strongest, most insightful support systems out there. We aren’t fragile. We aren’t incapable.

We are resilient.

We have learned how to live in the aftermath of pain.

And because of that, we are uniquely qualified to walk supports others in healing.

References

• Perspectives: Involving Persons with Lived Experience of Mental Health Conditions in Service Delivery, Development, and Leadership

• Campbell, L. (2012). Peer support: Reframing the journey from lived experience of domestic violence. Christchurch Women’s Refuge.