Two-thirds of disclosures of sexual violence are made to friends, family and partners (informal support network), compared to only 9% disclosing to formal support services. Despite this, the vast majority of research pertaining to sexual violence is conducted within the context of formal disclosures, for instance reporting to the police. In contrast, my research is an exploration of the experiences of victim-survivors of sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape, focusing on the ways in which they were responded to by their informal support network and the impact of the aforementioned responses.