That sounds like an incredibly painful and unsafe situation — surviving rape is already deeply traumatic, and then having to live in a home infested with rats and roaches, in a dangerous neighborhood, would have only made things worse. Living in those conditions can make it feel like there’s no safety anywhere — not in your body, your home, or your environment — which can compound trauma and make healing much harder.

It makes sense if you felt constantly on edge, anxious, or hopeless during that time. You were trying to survive in a setting that offered you no real sense of comfort or protection.