Archive for August 15th, 2007

Aug 15 2007

Child abuse – - who’s watching?

I may not have have been able to tell you about my story before. I am a victim of child sexual abuse. I had an adopted brother who sexually abused me as a child. I was only seven. The abuse went on for about five years. I couldn’t tell anyone about it because I felt like it was my fault. I tried so hard to hide it and it caused me pain in the long run. I carried that burden for 18 years until I met a Catholic Irish monk that walked me through the pain and carried me over to recovery.

You see, I was lucky. I only walked with the pain for 18 years before I found help, accidentally. Without that monk, I will still be carrying that bitterness inside me today.

Children needs protection. Child abuse is such taboo that it is talked about too little. We have to put the word out in the open so everyone is aware of its dangers. I was abused inside the home without anyone knowing that it was happening. The person that did this to me is someone that my parents brought home from an orphanage to help him live a normal life, yet what he did to me is unthinkable. No one would have ever thought that someone you helped with open arms will do this to your child.   But it happened.  Parents, please be conscious of whom you leave your children with. Children are abused every day inside their own homes. Unless this cycle is broken, we will have children growing up with broken emotions, unable to love, unable to function. Some hide it well but the damage is there. So please, I beg all of you to be cognizant of your children’s surroundings. A person you trust, could be a person you shouldn’t trust. Always keep your eyes and ears open…

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