As a child and, even into my teen years I was a victim of a sexual predator. It took years and, years and, a lot of therapy to overcome the damage sustained from my abuser. Because of who my abuser was, I was afraid to tell. I endured years of abuse at the hands of someone that I should have been able to trust, someone that was supposed to love me; take care of me and teach me things like “sexual abuse was NOT okay”.
It wasn’t until I was a mother that the damage really took hold of me. I protected my children in ways I wasn’t protected as a child. I became my own advocate too. I told, I spoke out against my abuser and I didn’t care who knew or, what anyone thought. It felt good. The one thing I didn’t do was file criminal charges, and many days I wish I had. My abuser has since passed and I’ve put the horror of those days behind me. But, I still feel strongly about speaking out and spreading that word about child sexual abuse.
To be honest, I didn’t know where to turn. Who would help me? Who would be willing to advocate for me, my rights and, my broken spirit? Over the years I’ve grown and learned a few things. For example, there are child abuse lawyers willing to fight for you. Willing to help you and, willing to do what it takes to protect you from future abuse.
In my earlier years of dealing with the physiological trauma alone was extremely difficult. Had I known at the time there were child sexual abuse attorney that would advocate for me, I would have contacted them immediately for help.
If you or someone you know is being abused, please, I urge you to get help. Reach out to a professional. You don’t have to suffer at the hands of a sexual predator.
