After: Surviving sexual assault - Leo: Part 2 – Now

Leo tells Catriona how the BDSM community became a safe space, where they could be open about their experiences of sexual assault.

Leo – who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns - isn’t their real name. But for personal reasons they’ve chosen to be anonymous.

They talk about learning how to listen to what their body needs, and learning how to ask for help when they’re not OK.

They also talk about feeling protected in the BDSM community, which has a system of blacklisting for members who don’t follow the boundaries set out by their partners.

If you've been affected by sexual abuse or violence, you can find details of organisations in the UK who offer help and support at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Presented by Catriona Morton, After is a 10-part series, featuring discussions between survivors of sexual abuse and assault about what happened to them and how they cope now.

Produced by Danielle Stephens. The Executive Producer is Clare Chadburn. It is a Wisebuddah production for BBC Sounds.

Published on Thursday, 8th August 2019.

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