For women who served in the Navy and were raped by fellow service members, victim-blamed, emotionally abused, retaliated against, and discarded by the institution they served, these remarks are not abstract. They are not political. They are re-injuring.

No matter how experienced a facilitator may be, they cannot feel what you feel. They cannot sense your edges. They cannot track your capacity. They cannot know what safety means inside your nervous system. Only you can. This is not a responsibility to perform well. It is a permission to decide.