I so identify with how alone it can feel in the closet--like disavowing a portion of yourself. I don't know if my experience is like yours, so I'll just share and you can see if it's useful to you.
Much of my recovery involved acknowledging things I had held as secrets, even from myself. It was hard work to stop denying some of the stuff that had happenned. When I closet myself professionally, it feels like I'm slipping into the old patterns of denial. I know that at one time I did it to protect my perp, but now I do it to protect myself. It still feels like protecting my perp, though.
One thing that you may want to think about. You are presenting on sexual abuse! Wow! Let's face it, in social sciences, whenever someone chooses a research area, others at least develop the hypothesis that you have some personal investment in that area. (For example, I research g/l/b issues, and am frequently presumed to be gay.) Saying it out loud in that setting may put you at risk professionally, but the fact that you are there, making that presentation, speaks volumes. Not only can you effectively provide empirical support to help teach therapists how to help us, but by being there, you at least make the suggestion that survivors can achieve what you have achieved. That takes more courage than I can boast of having.
I wish you the best in your presentation.
Namaste
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