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I
am a white woman, whose father
prostituted her from infancy
through my 20s. One thing that
occurs to me is that no believable
statistics, or accurate stats,
can be gathered when the major
defense against the shock of
abuse/betrayal is amnesia. I
believe that all women, and
men, prostitutes are set on
that path by sexual abuse of
some form. I was able to prove
my repressed memories and wrote
my story with author, Michael
Newton, a writer who is passionate
about injustice. It was released
by Simon & Schuster's Pocket
Books Div., in paperback, in
1995 and further proofs have
been obtained since them. It
describes a child sex ring run
by my mother and a woman he
murdered, Elizabeth Short, aka
"The Black Dahlia."
- Janice Knowlton
I plan to revisit your site.
Health issues and the continuing
flashbacks which fill in my
first 25 years (I am now 63),
as well as economic limitations,
prevent me from being more activist
at this time. However, I am
writing, speaking out, and just
plain alive and conscious. Not
bad for a woman born 63 years
ago into slavery.
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Thanks
for your note to FEMINIST.COM--and
for reaching out, both to us
and to millions of people who
have been abused and now have
access to your book. As you
may know, FEMINIST.COM--and
specifically Ask
Amy, receives many letters
related to sexual abuse. Some
are looking for a friend to
confide in, some are looking
for someone to believe them,
and others are looking for resources.
Your book--and thus your sharing
of your experiences--will certainly
help some of those people. So,
thank you for sharing.
Your note also raised another
interesting point, which is
how everyone tends to focus
on the statistics. One, even
if only 1 in 100 women were
being sexually abused that would
be too many, and two, statistics
ignore the long-term emotional
(and sometimes physical) impact
that this can have on a woman
throughout her life and further
reduce this experience to a
momentary thing. I know too
many people who have been abused
to believe that it is something
that goes away. You may be healed,
but you can never forget.
Besides your book, there are
others that have proven to be
helpful: Trauma and Recovery
by Judith Herman (other books
by her as well), The Drama
of a Gifted Child by Alice
Miller (other books by her as
well), and a great book by Sandy
Bloom, the title escapes me.
Check our Bookstore
for other suggestions.
Thanks again for sharing with
me and countless others. You
have helped us all.
—Amy
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