Welcome To SIA

This site is a resource for survivors of childhood sexual abuse who are seeking to heal and recover. As we say in our meetings, we hope you will find the hope, camaraderie, and recovery that we have been privileged to experience. We want you to know you are not to blame and, most importantly, not alone. We know your pain. Yet, we have come to the awesome realization that our pain is temporary and that if any one of us can recover – so can we all!

You Are Not Alone
We have found that healing from the trauma of child sexual abuse begins by listening and talking with others who have had similar challenges. We all learn and develop our self-confidence by interacting with others and observing how each of us responds to the challenge. The more similar these individuals and challenges are to ourselves and the ones we face, the greater the healing. In SIA, many of us have found, for the first time, that we are not alone in our struggles. For these reasons and many more, Survivors of Incest Anonymous emphasizes the importance of fellowship in recovery. We provide a variety of ways for you to connect and engage with the SIA recovering community. We encourage you to explore them all and hope you will find the best fit for you on your journey. Whether you want to share your experience with other survivors in weekly group meetings, connect with a regional intergroup, or attend one of our empowering retreats or conferences, we want you to discover a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment. Each of us, as members of SIA, strives to keep our fellowship healthy by coming to understand the boundaries of SIA and our 12 Traditions.

We hope in SIA that you will find support on your recovery journey of healing from the trauma of being sexually abused by a trusted person when you were a child.  Recovery is difficult, but now we know that we are not to blame and we are not alone.

About SIA
SIA, started in 1982, is a 12-step, self-help recovery program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous. There are no dues or fees. Confidentiality and anonymity are essential to our program. We are a spiritual, self-help program of people 18 years or older, who are guided by a set of 12 Suggested Steps and 12 Traditions, along with our Slogans and the Serenity Prayer. We define incest very broadly as a sexual encounter initiated by a family member or by an extended family member that damaged the child. By “extended family,” we mean an aunt, uncle, in-law, stepparent, cousin, friend of the family, teacher, coach, another child, clergy, or anyone who betrayed the child’s trust. The only requirement for membership is that you are a victim of child sexual abuse and you want to recover.

Here are some benefits we’ve found from fellowship and peer support:
Developing new friendships with safe people who share our experience
Helping others as we help ourselves
Becoming more self-confident
Feeling more in control of our own lives
Feeling less anxious and afraid
Sharing experiences with others
Feeling like we are no longer alone
Learning new skills for coping and enhancing our life
Gaining support and hope from others facing similar experiences

Mission Statement
We empower those who have survived childhood sexual abuse (who are not abusing any child) and who want to become survivors and thrivers.

SIA Purposes
To encourage, assist, and serve child sexual abuse and incest survivors in dealing with the consequences of child sexual abuse and incest;
To disseminate information in relation thereto; and
To conduct and participate in services that assist survivors in dealing with their related problems.