Re: child abuse
CG I'm so sorry about what you've been through. Not that this is meant to be a consolation for you, but you wouldn't believe how many girls are molested by these pervs! I know at least two cases, including myself. And of course neither of us told anyone but each other. For me, it was an older boy who lived next door... I was 8 or 9 when that happened.. I honestly can't even post what happened here b/c of how painful it is to even think about.
The other girl that I know was molested by her father's brother. She's very close to her mother, but didn't say anything to her because even at such a young age, she knew something like this would create a lot of problems in the house.. between her parents.
I think we kept these things to ourselves because things like that are unheard of in our culture. Talking about sex or even a girl's own body is taboo in most of our culture. So right from the beginning there's a communication hurdle, no matter how close you are to your parents.. we just don't have the words to describe something like this without it being even more painful for us. Parents need to know how common it is for girls to be molested. I honestly think that girls who are molested are a majority not a minority. It's important to tell the girls that these actions are not acceptable.. doesn't matter if he's a good friend or even a relative! If I have any daughters of my own, I'll arm them with the knowledge and the words to tell me if God forbid something like this ever happened to them.