Lauren Weingarten says that the time period after she was raped was a blur; she felt like she was in a new body as her mind processed what had been done to her. She doesn’t remember when the shooting pain in her pelvis started, just that it was suddenly there.

At first, she didn’t want to deal with it because it reminded her of what happened. No one was talking about the kind of pain she was experiencing. It was embarrassing to even acknowledge.

She avoided leaving her home, fearful she would collapse from an unpredictable pain attack. She was urinating over 30 times a night. Eventually, it interfered with her life so significantly that she had no choice but to seek help from a physician. But when she finally worked up the courage to talk about her debilitating symptoms, Weingarten said she was dismissed. So she went to another doctor. And another. But her problems kept being minimized, and the pain stayed.

Finally, years later, Weingarten met a woman doctor who took her seriously. This doctor said that pelvic pain is common for survivors of sexual assault, and referred her to pelvic floor physical therapy, a practice Weingarten had never heard of before. She went on to need several procedures, and still deals with pelvic pain today.

“The assault left me disabled,” Weingarten said. “It’s heartbreaking to think that all of this is because somebody made the decision to rape me, and yet I’m the one who has to deal with this constant physical reminder — something that I have to live with for the rest of my life.”

Now Weingarten is a victim advocate who leads workshops and support groups for survivors of abuse and sexual violence. She began hearing similar experiences of physical pain after assault being brushed aside. When she decided to share her experience with her online community, she was overwhelmed with comments and private messages thanking her for talking about a taboo subject.

Sexual assault is a disabling experience, but usually the conversation is restricted to mental health, not physical changes. Pelvic pain can impact anyone, but biases about women’s health can lead patients with vulvas to get dismissed more frequently. Studies show the physiological origins of gynecological pelvic pain are poorly studied and frequently overlooked by doctors in favor of blaming mental illness; the medical establishment also has a long history of gaslighting women about their health.