63. Yri Stafylaki: Part 2- Life Became a Total Disconnect, Then Came the Start of Healing

Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS

This is the concluding episode of Yri Stafylaki. It’s her continuing story of how her bad situation with an abusive boyfriend got worse. Worse because the fallout of what it means to be in an abusive, narcissistic relationship is often extremely messy.

Yri had been living her athletic dream of being on a basketball team that meant the world to her. She wasn’t a shining star player, but she had worked hard enough to make the team, and even harder to realize her dream of becoming a player who had become instrumental in scoring points and helping bring wins to the team. Being a part of this organization was a big deal to Yri.

But the problem became the fact that her once loving boyfriend, who was an athlete colleague on a men’s basketball team in the mutual league setting as her own women’s league, became abusive, even to the point that a rape resulted, Yri’s place on her team was brought to a traumatic culmination. When she let her coach know about the rape, he ignored the seriousness of the situation and continued to allow Yri’s boyfriend to be in the gym at the same time as Yri, against the agreement he had made with her. During an important game, when her boyfriend showed up in the audience, Yri became distraught, even to the point of tears during halftime in the locker room. Yri was kicked out of the locker room by her coach for being disruptive. Afterward, Yri made the difficult, but necessary, decision to quit the team in order to not have to see her rapist any longer. Then, things got even worse. You’ll have to listen to the episode to get the full story.

There are no happily-ever-after endings in a rape story. But there can be healing and victories; such is the case with Yri. While she doesn’t play organizational basketball any longer, she is dancing, and drawing, and writing…and she discovered the Sexual Assault Survivor Stories podcast when she was looking for some reprieve from the rape experience. And because of others on the podcast who’ve been brave enough to tell their survival story, Yri reached out to me and asked if she could be on the podcast also. And you’re the fortunate listener who gets to hear Yri share her story here, in order to help bring justice to other victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault.

If you’re ready to tell your story, you can reach me at [e-mail], and we can talk about the possibility of you being on the show. And there are other ways to also help bring justice to victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault; one of the best ways is to Start By Believing. Learn more about the campaign at the Start By Believing website, published below. Do it for the victims and survivors, and do it for yourself…because we all know someone whose life has been affected by rape or sexual assault. And if you’re a victim or survivor who needs resources and help, find out what may be available for you at Safe In Harm’s Way website, also listed below.

You can help this podcast by becoming a subscriber wherever you get your podcasts. It also helps if you’ll leave a rating, a comment, and tell others about the show! Thank you!!

https://markel-consulting.com

https://startbybelieving.org

https://safeinharmsway.org

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