Abuse: Abuse is when someone causes harm to others or misuses the power they have over another. Abuse can occur in many forms (physical and emotional) and in different settings.
 

Dissociation: Dissociation is when one feels disconnected from themselves or their environment. It may feel like one is separate from their body. It is often thought of as being ‘switched off’ from the self.
 

Dysregulation: During times of distress, our nervous system gets activated. When we are dysregulated, it can mean that we are unable to bring our nervous system back into a feeling of safety. It can also lead to an activation of our emotions – dysregulation can then refer to the intensity and/or duration of our feelings.
 

Flashbacks: A flashback is when memories of a traumatic incident feel as if they are taking place in the current moment. It can feel like the abusive incident is being experienced in the present. It can happen unexpectedly and is likely caused by a trigger.
 

Grounding: Grounding techniques use the five senses — sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight — to immediately connect oneself with the present, the here and now. How we ground ourselves is highly personal; what works for one person may bring active discomfort for another.
 

Survivor: This resource is intended to support people who have faced any form of sexual and/or gender-based violence. We use the term "survivor" to refer to them throughout this resource. However, we recognize that language is a significant tool in self-determination, and respect the agency of every person who relies on this tool to adopt terminology they most feel comfortable using for themselves, and to not feel constrained to use the word "survivor" alone 
 

Trauma: "Trauma is not what happens to you, it's what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you." Gabor Mate
 

Trauma-Informed Care: A trauma-informed mental health professional is someone who has undergone training to realise the impact of trauma, promotes healing and recovery, and most importantly does not re-traumatise their client.
 

Trauma Treatment and Healing: The goal is to be able to navigate things that cause stress, and reduce trauma symptoms. In addition to this, the focus could also be on transformation, making meaning, and working towards feeling stronger and more capable.
 

Trigger: A trigger can be anything that reminds one of a traumatic incident(s) or the impact of it. It can be a word, image, phrase, time, place, colour, texture, idea or a sensory experience that takes one out of the present moment into a state of feeling unsafe or overwhelmed. Sensory experiences may affect one or many of their senses i.e - sound, sight, smell, physical sensation.
 

Triggered: Being triggered also means that an existing mental health situation is activated or made worse.
 

Marginalisation: Marginalisation, also called social marginalisation, occurs when a person or groups of people are less able to do things or access basic services or opportunities. It’s also sometimes referred to as social exclusion.
 

Systemic Discrimination: Institutional practices that cause harm to or disadvantage a group of people.
 

Queer: Queer is an umbrella term used by and for non-heterosexual, non-cisgender persons. The term was originally used as a slur for LGBTQIA+ persons, but has been reclaimed by queer communities across the world. The term is also used by some to reject strict labels within LGBTQIA+ communities. 
 

LGBTQIA+: LGBTQIA+ is an acronym and umbrella term that is often used to refer to the queer communities as a whole. The abbreviation stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual/Aromantic; the + at the end refers to several other non-heterosexual, non-cisgender identities including but not limited to pansexual, demisexual etc. 
 

Queer community: 'Queer' is an umbrella term used to describe members of the LGBTQ+ community who are united by culture and social movements.
 

Conversion Treatments: Conversion treatments include a range of unethical and intrusive practices attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression to match traditional heterosexual and cisgender norms. For intersex persons, especially children, this could include surgeries to ‘normalise’ the appearance of genitals to fit our basic understanding of ‘male’ or ‘female’ bodies.

For non-cisgender or non-heterosexual persons, conversion treatments include forced hormone therapy, electric shocks, hypnosis, counselling, psychotherapy, and masturbatory reconditioning. Queer individuals are often forced to undergo such treatments non-consensually, and they can have long-lasting impacts on the person’s physical, mental, and psychological health. Note that conversion therapy has been banned by the Madras High Court. 
 

Gender Affirming Surgeries: Gender-affirming surgeries (GAS) are surgical procedures that alter a transgender or gender non-conforming person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alleviate gender dysphoria. 
 

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Transgender hormone therapy, also called hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), is a form of hormone therapy in which sex hormones and other hormonal medications are administered to transgender or gender non-conforming individuals for the purpose of more closely aligning their secondary sexual characteristics with their gender identity.
 

Gendered Language: Gendered language refers to words and expressions that assume or imply someone’s gender. One prevalent example is when telemarketing executives assume that anyone on the other end of a call is a ‘sir’. Using gendered language can be non-inclusive of several people in any scenario, and can particularly exclude transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. 
 

Interpersonal Bias: Bias that operates on the individual level between a client and practitioner.
 

Institutional Bias: Bias that operates at a structural level and impacts the policies and procedures followed by institutions.