Standing on my Soap Box

We are in the information age. People in “the know”. And yet I am amazed at the things I hear.

What am I yammering about this time? Actually I am thinking about when one person’s sin has cut to the soul of another and the damage it leaves behind. The number of girls that have been used, abused and then tossed away to deal with the ache in their soul astounds me.  Some are hurt so badly that they resort to a coping “skill” called cutting in hopes that it will relieve their pain.

As I said earlier, we are a generation in the know. Talk of abuse and its affects are all over the place. One would think that because we know so much, people wouldn’t try anything But with that said, did you know that 1 of every 3 girls will be abused or assaulted by the time they are 18?

I was one of those 3 girls. When I was 14, I became a 28 year old man’s play thing. My sexual abuse was minor in comparison to many other stories and yet its effect on me was devastating.

When I was 20 years old I started counselling. It was only supposed to be a session or two, but it ended up being 2 years of weekly sessions with an amazing counsellor (I had a lot of issues to deal with surrounding what happened to me)

I ended up confronting the man who hurt me so deeply in a session with my counsellor and an elder of my church at the time. He fully accepted responsibility for his actions, while his wife blamed me because of what I wore (Good GOLLY, I was 14, he was 28!). I did not charge him with assault (although now I wish I had)

What is my point in all this? It’s not to tell you the details of my life or rehash old wounds, but to tell you that it is still happening today. I know of twelve, fourteen and fifteen year olds (one who is even 9 years old) are trying to make sense of the hurt and pain. Teenagers who should be laughing and enjoying their school years are trying desperately to make the pain go away and going to extreme lengths to do so.

Please when you hear of abuse or assaults – DO SOMETHING! Tell someone; go to a guidance counsellor at a local school for direction, PRAY, because one day the pain will be too much and push these children over the edge.

On a side note, if you are the one that is hurting, I have been there! I will not tell you I know what you are feeling, because every situation is different, but I do know it hurts.

Another reason for telling you my story is this, our justice system. Graham James is a gentleman who abused his power and hurt little boys who were in his care. This man has recently pled guilty to new charges of sexual abuse.  There is a possibility he may not receive any jail time for what he did. This is a high profile case. If a high profile case gets little justice, what will happen to cases of abuse against the average man? We need to contact our MPs. We need victims to see that they are important, that they have rights. Please contact your MP regarding sentencing of abuser. I will, will you?