Alex's Answer

My friend is pregnant as a result of sexual abuse

Your Question

I recently found out one of my friends is pregnant from sexual abuse. They are 16 and don’t live in a situation where an adult could be told. What should I do? 

Answer

Hi there, and welcome to Ask Alex.  

Thank you so much for reaching out to us and trusting us with what’s going on for you. We know it can be a difficult thing to do, but we also know how great it is for young people to share their thoughts and their emotions. Talking about and sharing what is going on for you is a big and brave step forward.  

It appears to us that you are looking for additional support and information for your friend regarding sexual abuse and pregnancy. It also comes across to us that you are a very supportive friend.  

Firstly, it can be useful to talk to others about this. Would you have a trusted adult in your life you could discuss it with? This can be a family member like parent, aunt, uncle and grandparent, or someone outside of the family like a teacher, neighbour, or sports coach. The adults in your life have a responsibility to support you, listen to you and offer advice.  

Secondly, we are so very sorry to hear that your friend has experienced sexual abuse. No one has the right to hurt them in any way and they have a right to feel safe. For more information on this topic, have a look at the following article: https://www.childline.ie/what-is-sexual-abuse/. Furthermore, you can direct your friend to access services around a crisis pregnancy at www.positiveoptions.ie or text “List” for free to 5044 to access counselling services. 

Finally, you said that your friend does not live in a situation where an adult could be told. Remember, you and your friend can always phone Childline on 1800 66 66 66 to talk about what is going on for you if you don’t feel ready to talk to someone in your lives quite yet. We are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our text service, which can be reached on 50101 and Web Chat service through www.childline.ie, are also available daily. While we will not tell you what to do, we are here to listen to and support you, and to help you to explore the options that are available to you in your life. We are here to help you in a way that suits you.   

We hope that the information we have given you is useful. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any other questions.  

Take care,  

Alex 

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