Our Responsibility in Stopping Sexual Abuse of Children
It’s up to the adults, not the kids.
TW: Sexual abuse
I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Beginning somewhere around the age of 10, at least that I’m conscious of, my mother’s husband, his name is Gary, started coming into my room at night when he got home from his afternoon shift at GM. I’ll spare the details, but suffice it to say that almost 40 years later, I still sleep best on my stomach with my arms crossed over my chest.
I didn’t tell anyone for a long time. I was afraid of him. He had been physically abusive before this, ever since he and my mother got married when I was three-and-a half. I had never been spanked before and it hurt. I eventually became a very good girl, trying never to get in trouble, but it was difficult because any little thing I did could be misconstrued as disrespect. I learned quickly to not stand up for myself. If I kept quiet, I was mostly left alone. My mother and I were also, by this marriage, brought into the evangelical Baptist religion. For those who are unfamiliar, it’s very patriarchal and restrictive. I couldn’t do shit without getting yelled at or worse. Submissive = safe, especially being a girl.
My father died before I was born, so going to him wasn’t an option. It was made blatantly clear to me that ‘family’ stuff stayed in…
