Because of my Situation, should i tell someone i was raped?

Thank you for taking the time to respond back to my question. your words have helped me in making a decision as to what im going to do about this whole situation.

Ive decided to just keep it to myself. It will only cause more problems in the long run if i tried to tell someone in my family. My cousin never talked about it (except once a few years ago, when he "reminded" me not to tell anyone), but now he just acts like nothing ever happened. I would, however, tell someone if i believed that he would do it to someone else, but i dont think it will happen again.

i will be 18 in a few weeks, and last week i decided that when my birthday comes i plan on moving in with a friend and getting away from my family altogether. The friend im moving in with is actually the only person ive ever told my situation to, so he completely understands what im going through and wants to help me get out of there. I believe that the only way to put this behind me is to rid myself of anything to do with my family (outside of holiday get-togethers). Its not worth the emotional pain and stress that all of this is causing me to have to deal with. i think that when i move out i will finally be able to just let it go and everything will be ok.

and im glad that im not the only one who dealt with issues towards men since this happened. I have always felt weird towards guys and to this day i still have major trust issues with any guy im with because of the fear that it might happen again. i also am dealing with the self-conscious issues of not wanting a guy to see my body because the last time a guy saw my body, i was unwilling to let him see... But i do feel like these issues are slowly fading, because the friend that im moving in with is actually the only guy i have ever trusted. He knows my secrets, and he is very caring and considerate of all my feelings and emotions. He knows that i do deal with flashbacks of what happened anytime i am touched, and they scare me to death because im afraid it will happen again, and he knows that i still have nightmares and he understands everything that goes on in my head and wants to help me get over everything. He doesn't ask questions about it, wanting to know further information, because he knows i dont want to go into detail and bring up more flashbacks. He does want us to be more than friends eventually, but he's even being patient until im ready for a relationship, because he doesn't want to push me into anything im not ready for and knows i need time. He has definitely helped me more than he knows, though, because just telling him everything took a lot of weight off my shoulders, and im thankful for having him here to help me through it all. he is a few years older than me, so i think he understands a bit more than a guy my age would, because he is wiser and more mature. (i know that might sound odd in some people's perspective, but i have known him for a very very long time, and im not making any kind of wrong decision by being with him. I know he isnt just trying to use me because im a younger girl. its nothing like that at all.)

My family has their own issues. They really don't care about me that much and trying to explain this to them would only create more problems. They would definitely turn on me in a heartbeat, and i know this from experience. Ever since i first met my friend that im moving in with, my family has turned against me, believing that i have been having sex with him, and somehow they managed to bring drugs into the picture, blaming him for having "influenced" me into having sex and smoking everything on gods great earth.They know how i am, and they know that i have no intentions of having sex until marriage, and they also know that he and i are just friends. My family ALSO knows the extreme dislike i have for any type of drugs, and they know that ive never even tried any kind of drug in my life and i dont plan on it. the problem with my family is that they thrive off of drama. anything they can assume is happening is actually happening, reguardless of whether its true or not. i actually just found out a few days ago that 2 of my aunts and my grandmother have been coming in my room and searching through my stuff, i guess trying to find drugs or condoms or something to prove that they are right about everything, which they are NOT. So i basically have no privacy living here and being around my family, and things would just go straight down the tubes if i were to tell them what happened. that would be like the whipped cream on top of the dramatic pie. so i think its best that i just keep it to myself...

I know i will be ok eventually. the best thing for me to do right now is just keep things to myself and get the heck out of my grandmas house. the sooner i am away from my family, and my cousin, the sooner this will all finally become "the past". I have my friend who is doing an excellent job in helping me through all of this. he knows me and knows how my family is, and things are already starting to get better just by him being there.

You have also helped me as well. being able to share this with someone else has also made me feel better. your advice was very encouraging and hearing what you had to say has ensured me that everything will be ok. so thank you...