Sexually Abused In Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

When I was in grade school playing softball with a neighborhood girlfriend when her brother, who under the guise of showing me how to bat, reached under my shirt and fondled my nonexistent breasts. I was ashamed and told no one at the time. I was taught shame at an early age. My parents were under a lot of stress and I knew that if I spoke to them about it, they would see me as bringing more trouble into their already chaotic lives. My father would ask, “What did I do to cause the situation?” I didn’t want to be the bearer of shame and so I stayed quiet. Later, while still in grade school, a high school aged brother in a family of 3 neighborhood boys, coaxed my best friend and I into a “game” that would lead to my friend undressing in front on him. I had two boyfriends in high school, both of whom were physically abusive. At 16, my boss at a local steakhouse propositioned me in the freezer of the establishment. I was afraid of this type of male

Many children experience a sense of shame when faced with sexual abuse. They may feel as if their innocence had been taken away or that it is their fault-- or they may have even been threatened to stay silent by the perpetrator. Therefore, rarely does it happen that children confide in authority figures when they have been assaulted.

Sexual abuse is a big problem that no one wants to discuss. I believe no one likes to talk about it because it is sexual in nature. For this reason, the victim may feel ashamed or embarrassed for having been victimized. They may even feel at fault if they were coerced into the abuse. Society has placed a taboo on sexual abuse conversations, so when there is a need to discuss it, the parties involved don’t know how to broach the subject. We need to get past this forbidden topic and make it a priority to help those who are afraid to come forward. Without addressing the situation, we won’t be able to stop this from happening to others. By not helping others to accuse their attacker we are essentially helping the attacker go unreported, thus aiding them to freely create more victims.

Behavioral evidence of an adult who has suffered from sexual abuse may seem invisible to the untrained eye. If the signs of sexual abuse go unnoticed, this leads to the victim believing that they are on their own, thus creating worse psychological damage. Most victims try to hide the behaviors that make them different from other functioning adults. As a coping mechanism, most young adults suppress the feelings that are associated with the attacks, feelings that they wished they never had. “Adults in their 20s may be more likely to deny, repress, or minimize their sexual abuse than older adults. There is evidence to suggest that some victims may forget the abuse occurred and recall it in middle life” (O’Leary, Coohey, and Easton 285). This

Driving up to two-hundred miles round trip for a job; I hate admitting that he spent most of his time working or driving. I knew growing up that he was an intelligent but kind man, and even though he could be stern with us, he was real. Sadly, this left me to the thralls of the remainder of my family. Without the care or notice of my mother, and the hopeful trusting of my father by her, I was often left with my brothers; one which tormented and beat on me, the other who took advantage of me and secretly molested me behind closed doors. I never found the courage to stand up and tell, I always felt that no one would believe, or if they did, would they care? To me, this WAS

I. Attention getter: Do you know a friend or family member who has been sexually abused? Or maybe you have experienced sexual abuse yourself? Are you aware of the psychological and developmental effects it can have on you or someone you may know? Chances are, you don’t—while sexual abuse is common, may people do not speak up, and the problem goes unrecognized.

Child sexual abuse remains a silent epidemic which affects not only the victim but their families also. An immeasurable number of people struggle daily because they are carrying substantial loads of unresolved mental issues. More often than not, these issues exist for long periods of time unknown to the victim’s family and remain untreated. The available research eludes that it can last into adulthood for a victim of child sexual abuse to come forward and disclose their experiences. The statute of limitations that exist for reporting child sexual abuse excludes over and above half of the victims from ever seeking or receiving justice. These feelings are often harnessed and manifest into devastating outcomes as demonstrated in Jessica’s

Abuse is a topic that should be discussed without discrimination. Due to the fact that, if the sexual abuse victims or survivals are not able to open up and discuss the situation to anyone, without discrimination the victims are more likely to develop long lasting psychological disorder quickly. This psychological disorder may include: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD), Panic attack, Personality disorder, Multiple Personality Disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or anxiety disorder. Here is research to back on the above statement; “M is a 5 year old girl presenting with symptoms of fear, frequent nightmares, irritability, and decreased sleep following penetrative sexual abuse by a relative. The perpetrator was arrested and the

As a young adult I became a victim to my rapist. I couldn’t gauge if my parents would be supportive through the trauma so I never confided in them. The people I chose to tell

My mother has taught me that in some situations people do not want to change. Without a mother figure in my life, I tended to become attached to female role models, including my neighbor, my babysitter and my older sisters. On top of my mother not wanting to be a part of my life, at the age of 6, I was raped by my “supposedly” childhood best friend. Since this incident was with a girl, I was not too sure just what was happening and I was too young to even understand what sex meant. So, after this incident happened, I just decided to keep it to myself and not tell anyone about it, until I was old enough to understand what it all meant. This event had a big impact on my life because it was hard for me to open up to people and I thought that if I told others about the incident, then they would say it was my fault. My life only went downhill from there because I lost trust inn

In an attempt to deter children from disclosing the abuse, predators will threaten harm towards the child or their family members. Over the years these children may repress their feelings and as they grow older the memories can lead to depression and other psychological problems.

To a loving mother who takes care of her children to the best of her ability the words sexual abuse to her child can be very detrimental. She places them in the care of individuals who she trust and believe will do what is in the best interest of them. My mother did not want to lose us again to DHS, so she asked family for help. At eight years old, my life and perception of life changed. This change came with an enormous price that one could not fathom unless experienced his/herself. I was sexually abused by a close family member that continued for approximately two to three years without anyone’s knowledge besides the perpetrator and me. Sexual abuse was never in my vocabulary, nor did I know what it meant at that time. So I trusted this behavior was the norm, or at least this is how it was explained to me by the abuser. My mother was constantly working, so she did not have a clue to the situation. I did not know how or what to say to her about anything that was going on. So, I never mentioned or reported the sexual abuse to anyone until I was an adult and understood it was wrong. These two experiences marked the beginning of my journey and what I believe is my calling to becoming a social worker.

Whether the child discloses the abuse, and when s/he does, greatly affect the consequences.17 An estimate of 30% and 80% of sexual abuse victims do not purposefully disclose until adulthood, children under age 6 being the least likely to disclose.18, 19 Children may not disclose sexual abuse due to feelings of shame, self-blame for the abuse, or for fear of negative

As a child, I was molested at the hands of two family members and yearned to leave my family. I thought my real father would rescue me. The molestation began as early as I can remember when I was at least six or seven years old. I was afraid, and I was threatened many times that bad things would happen to

At the age of fifteen, I was in my first relationship that wasn’t healthy or respected at all. One day after work my ex-boyfriend left me over fifty messages, authorizing me to meet him at his house asserting we needed to talk. When I arrived at his house, he crammed his phone into my face asking me what the messages from my guy best friend designated and if I was cheating. After calling me a promiscuous female and a cheater I denied and that’s when he let his anger out on me and pushed me to his bedroom door holding me down with no one home to hear my boisterous screaming for help. I managed to run out of his room to the bathroom to call my sister for help, and in about half an hour she thumped on his house door to get me out. I managed to get out of the house, crying on my sister’s shoulders feeling like the world was against me. For several weeks I couldn 't eat, sleep, or even talk to my mom because of how fearful I was, until I looked for aid with my high school counselors who managed to talk to me and guide me through the healing process. Domestic abuse is a real, relevant topic where men are more likely to be the abusive ones towards women ,which can impact the family and can lead to the women staying silent to not alert children.