Trauma, sexual abuse & some of its potential long-term effects are explored in terms of embodiment, i.e. what effect does severe sexual abuse have on an individual’s sense of living in his or her body &, by extension, living in the world? Suicide attempts & self-destructive behaviour, involving the abuse of the body, are common among survivors of severe sexual abuse. To many survivors, self-abusive behaviours are no more abusive than were the actions of their abusers. (40 refs.)