Melissa tells Catriona how embracing her queerness and learning to enjoy dating again helped her cope in the aftermath of her trauma.

Melissa brought a case of rape all the way to court but received a ‘not guilty’ verdict. Melissa isn’t her real name, but in a case like this, we cannot identify the accused for legal reasons. So to keep all parties involved anonymous, she agreed we could use a voice actor to record her half of the conversation .

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.

The voice actor for this episode is Heather Long.

Produced by Danielle Stephens. The Executive Producers are Nick Minter and Clare Chadburn. It is a Wisebuddah production for BBC Sounds.