Thursday, July 8, 2010

How Prevelent Is Child Sexual Abuse Near Me?

Just how prevalent is child sexual abuse near me. Over the years I have seen and heard different things that lead me to believe that something inappropriate is happening but what should or can I do in that instance? Many years ago I was near a playground and I overheard a young boy saying the words, "Oh, your just like all the rest!" It reminded me of something I said to a friend (a girl) when I was very young. In my own memories it had to do with sexual abuse. I remember that each day I survived after the sexual abuse I told myself I would tell someone but that day in my childhood never came. Those thoughts consumed my life and I was very lost as a child. It affected my entire being and I shut down in many ways. Could those words be words to pay attention to especially when a child can not express what they are wanting to say and get support and help with? Does a person somehow know they will not get support when they do finally voice the experiences of surviving sexual abuse? Maybe times have changed and children are more believed now. I do not know the statistics.

In speaking of other thing I have heard, there was an apartment a few years ago where I heard a child crying at 3:30 in the morning every morning for at least a week. It may have gone on longer than that but from what I heard it was a week. Furthermore the crying was forced and sounded as if at some point of the crying there was a pressure placed upon the child. It did sound to me that the child could have been being raped. I spoke with a married friend of mine and he told me, "Children cry." I heard some talking from a woman and from what I thought I heard she spoke to the girl and told her she was not being hurt. I know this is disturbing to whom ever will read this as it is disturbing to myself as I relive the experience and I am at a loss as to what I should have done or if I am just formulating these things from my own abusive past.

I was at a motel that provided a buffet breakfast as part of the price of the room. There was a young girl who was sitting with a man as they had breakfast and she had a towel over her head. I could not see her very well with the towel covering most of her face but she seemed very depressed and certainly trying to hide. I immediately thought that she was maybe a child in a very dangerous situation. The man sat and ate his breakfast and did not speak with the girl as she occasionally had a utensil full of breakfast and fed herself under the towel. I do not know what I have the power to do in this kind of situation. I feel totally out of sorts. I do not know if the little girl behaved badly and was given a spanking or any real concrete details of what occurred to make this little girl behave as she did. I do not know child psychology to make any judgement as to what happened but I do know what I thought. I thought the man was a father or uncle or (?) was a pedophile and that I wanted to find a way to help the little girl. I wanted to talk with her to find out why she was hiding under the towel. I wanted to get her away from a man who I thought was harming her. But I didn't know what I could/should do, and I did nothing. I must find out my powers and my abilities to act upon what I see. I need to investigate what I can do the next time. We all need to be more proactive.

1 comment:

Mother Mary Sunshine said...

How brave you. I am so sorry for what you have endured.

Thank you for this blog, thank you for trying to guide us out of this nightmare of child abuse.

I want to know what to do to help. Sometimes I pass a child in a store or on a street and in my bones I feel like they need help. I am ashamed that I do not know what to say or do to help.

Thank you again. We need an organized front to end this abuse. I am a nonviolent peaceful person except when it comes to child molesters. I do not think they can be rehabilitated. I do not think castration is the answer either, they could just do other sick things to children. I think that if someone is a proven molester they should be put to death. Immediately, no appeals, no long drone out sentences immediate death.