To those of you who follow me both here and on Twitter I would like to say a huge "Thank you". In the last few weeks I have felt, for the most part, enormously encouraged by the support shown to me and other survivors of childhood sexual abuse, rape, domestic and emotional abuse.
For those of you that unfollowed, I bid you farewell. I will not miss you, especially those who told me to shut up because I was being boring, or that I didn't know what I was talking about and so on ....
I will say this and I will say it very loudly:
Childhood sexual abuse EXISTS and it happens in every village, every town, every city of every country and in every culture.
Those who close their eyes and ears to the abuse are themselves complicit in the act of abuse itself. This includes family, friends, doctors, nurses, celebrities, schools, law enforcement agencies, governments (local and national), social services and other organisations and agencies.
Yes, not seeing what is in front of your eyes makes you guilty - guilty by association.
Survivors have been slowly gaining their voices, growing in confidence and accepting that they themselves were the innocent parties. This has not been easy. The road so far has been rocky to say the very least. Why should we suffer the ignorance of others as well as the atrocities that were forced upon us in the first place?
You might be uncomfortable hearing or reading about our experiences. Can you ever begin to imagine what it feels like to be us?
If you analyse the information available on reported incidents of abuse alone, then those of us who are amongst the abused can be counted in the MILLIONS.
That is a very large number; a very large number of innocent people whose childhoods and innocence were stolen and violated.
WHY SHOULD WE BE QUIET? WHY SHOULD WE FEEL ASHAMED TO SPEAK OUT? WHY SHOULD WE BE EXPECTED TO SUFFER IN SILENCE?
Does it disrupt your lives? Does it make you uncomfortable? Does it distract from your internet, television or leisure time? Does it?
Are you in a crowd of people at the moment? One in three girls and approximately one in five boys are reported as having been sexually abused ... Those are only the statistics for those who have been brave enough to come forward...
I call upon everybody - every agency, every company or organisation, every council and every government - to stand up, be counted and help US do something about this.
How many victims are there out there who are too scared, too ashamed or too browbeaten to seek help?
How many abusers are there out there, RIGHT NOW, ruining lives, stealing innocence and creating damage beyond comprehension to innocents?
Are you going to just sit back and let this continue?
Are you going to remain silent and ignorant?
Are you going to keep telling victims like me to shut up and put up?
No, you are not! Because I will not just shut up. I will stand up proudly and, if needs be, defiantly and say,
" I AM A SURVIVOR. WE ARE SURVIVORS!"
SILENT AND HIDING? No.
Abusers beware.....
I STAND WITH YOU......."I AM A SURVIVOR. WE ARE SURVIVORS!!!!"
ReplyDeleteKeep telling your story... sharing your feelings... expressing yourself! I for one am sooooo glad I found you and I appreciate your voice. You are expressing what so many feel as a result of what they have experienced. You are saying what so many can't! Keep on telling. Keep on sharing.
You are not alone... many stand with you!
Much Luv to You
Much Luv to you always
Your surviving sister,
Touched2MySoul
Good for you. Declaring war on the child abusers and on those who turn a blind eye to abuse is indeed a brave step. There are many people out there besides our abusers who want us to stop talking. Most of those who are not abusers, have their own abuse issues that they hope to forget. They think if they deny that the abuse happened, it will go away. Abuse issues don't go away until you do the work of healing. Denial just keeps it going and keeps you blind to other children being abused. The silence of abuse has to stop.
ReplyDeleteVery good! We are happy to see this kind of courage and voice in 'our crowd' (that is, the millions of survivors that are, have been, and will be). We have been forced to 'shut up' and stay silent for TOO long - I know, as we've been told that fairly recently. But ... I'll be damned if I'm gonna shut up about it. We feel no shame for what was done to us; and we are fine with it. It's the rest of society that has the problem with it - and the sooner child abuse stops, the sooner they (and our survivors) will solve the problems of social stigma, shame and outrage, and all the mental . . . 'stuff' that comes from being a survivor of CSA. Go git 'em, tiger!
ReplyDeleteA noble cause, of course, but I hope you can do this with love in your heart, rather than anger in your mind. You deserve peace after all you've been through. Don't allow those who have wounded you in the past to remain a catalyst of pain... forgive them (for your own benefit), but that doesn't mean for a moment that you have to let go of the knowledge and strength of heart that can help others.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful thing you're doing, but please centre yourself on love. :-)
Yes!!!! To the loud voices, who will not be silenced!
ReplyDeleteWe ALL have the responsibilty to do what we can to protect our innocent children! Thank you for standing up and speaking out.
ReplyDelete