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Thanks
for your note to FEMINIST.COM.
I'm sorry to hear that you were
raped as a child--and, also,
glad that you are brave enough
to want to work to end this
cycle of abuse. As a society,
we still live in denial about
the prevelance of child sexual
abuse and in reality--one in
four girls and one in seven
boys are sexually abused before
the age of 18. What we actually
have is a cycle of abuse--men
who abuse were usually abused
and usually go on to abuse.
A different pattern comes out
in women--women who are abused
usually go on to be abused in
different ways. To break these
cycles, we have to acknowledge
this abuse and then the healing
can begin. It sounds like you
are already taking steps in
that direction. If you need
incentive to talk more openly
about your situation, remember
that the person who abused you
is likely to have abused others--and
similarly---on average, there
are 1 in 4 women who have been
abused. Your honesty and openess
is likely the break that cycle
for others.
For more specifics. You can
volunteer at a local shelter
and/or write about your experience
as a way of breaking the taboo.
For further support and resources,
you should check out our Violence
Against Women links.
. I
don't feel that I have been
that helpful, so if you give
me more specifics, I can try
to be more helpful.
—Amy
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