Survivor Story-1: A brave mother from Europe

Survivor Story-1

 

A brave women somewhere from Europe found the courage to share her story to allow parents see the possibilities of abuse in various environments and by someone who could be of even the same age. Children between 12 to 17 years are more prone to body exploration and potential abuse. A child abusing another child is more frequent in situations where there are more children and less close monitoring.

 

"I was 15 years old and had a summer job working in a snack shack on the beach. There was a boy my age who worked there too. On a slow day our boss said we could take the rental canoe and paddle for a while to have some fun. If was fun, I loved being on the water. We went to an island just a hundred meters out from the beach. We sat on the beach, partly in the water, looking across the water to our workplace. The water reached my waist. Then suddenly himself on me and started touching me in my private places. Never saying anything, never even looking at me. One moment we were just talking about nothing in particular, next I froze. I felt dirty, felt like a wh*re. Embarrassed and disgusted that I did'nt stop it. This wasn’t the first incident that happened to me. We went back to the shack and I kept silent. After that day I quit the job. This incident made me feel that only my body was of value. To be used by anyone who had the lust and urge to take from me what was never asked. I turned inward, felt depressed al lot and just was no happy person. I tried covering up and I think I was doing a good job because no one ever thought anything had happened to me"

 

I hope this story enables parents, guardians, employers, and people with responsibility of protecting children to understand that situational altertness is important and seemingly benign situations can actually scar a person for life. Click to read more about 7 stages of abuser grooming a child

 

Luckily the kid survive and proved to be a great mother, however, much has happened to her that day. She clearly wrote the post trauma feelings for our readers, but can anyone help us understand the underneath meaning of those damages, the nature of wounds (short and long term)? 

Lets ask, share point of view, and discuss to understand more and remain more equipped to be a better parents, guardians, teachers, counsellors, employers, etc. To know about the early signs of abuse, read this article.