Homework Assignment #1

	My Traumatic experience to recap was an incident at work wherein I was groped in the genitals by a coworker/supervisor unprovoked. As some background I had a brief flirtarous relationship with the person in question ( A woman supervisor of a different department, before she was promoted to a supervisory position when we started to work together, This discontunied  as I found out she held/expressed racist and homophobic comments). This has been characterized as sexual harassment / sexual assault of an unprovoked nature by friends I have consulted as well as in the context of telling my therapist. I find this hard to reconcile with my self image of not being someone/something worthy of basic respect or boundaries. I feel as though my initial flirtation and extreme difficulty saying “no” in a blunt and direct manner. I feel as though I must have done something to deserve such treatment and/or it was not as much of a transgression as it would be if it was anyone who is not me a being of very low worth. This has caused me to be very distant and anxious at work in general and when in her vicinity in general. There has not been another groping incident but she has continued with flirting behavior to which I react with an attempt of complete lack of affect or response, I still have a very hard time saying “no” directly and this incident has reminded me of many instances in the past of letting myself be used by partners in borderline abusive / exploitatiative ways which is something I have had many problems with in the past.