Back in the ’50’s No One Talked About Abuse!
As a child, I knew no one would believe me if I tried to tell them what was happening to me. The Voice I needed hid behind the threats.
I was only seven when the abuse started. The horror that my abuser was my father was more horrid than my worst nightmare. I am The Voice of abused children and adults!
My Father – My Demon
The man had so much control over the community and the church that to think anyone would help a little kid was unthinkable.
I heard the women whisper about the girls who got pregnant before they graduated from high school, but I never heard even a whisper about the ugliness that had become my life.
We Still Don’t Talk About Abuse
Things haven’t changed that much, even today.
We don’t want to talk about the sexual abuse we experienced as a child. Many of us have never told anyone our secret.
I asked God frequently as a child and as an adult what I could do so the same thing didn’t happen to other kids.
I believe I heard his answer when he told me to take the stories I made up in my head as a child and turn them into an inspirational story for kids everywhere.
That is how Elle Burton was born.
My brave inner child finally had an opportunity to come out and show others how kindness and courage can work together to make a difference in a world filled with the injustices far too many children have to endure each day.
Let me be the voice of the survivor in all of us. Don’t feel you have to share your story. All you have to do is encourage Elle to make the difference we both want to see in this mixed-up world.
Children are precious commodities. We must act together to provide the hope and inspiration they need to stand up to the injustices and ugliness they may face in their young lives.
Walk with me along the highway to hope as we begin to make a difference together.
Check out this resource:
SAY NO MORE: THE REALITY OF CHILD ABUSE Click Here
“One in four girls and one in six boys are abused, usually at the hands of someone they know.
“As the nation’s largest victims’ services agency, working with hundreds of thousands of survivors of abuse and crime each year, we know all too well that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault feel an overwhelming sense of shame, often preventing them from seeking help. Shame is never clearer than with abused children and their caretakers, who feel an even more heightened sense of confusion, guilt and shame in coming forward.
“Although nearly 3 million children are abused in our country every year, sadly, many people have trouble accepting its reality. Across the country, there are nearly 700 Child Advocacy Centers devoted to providing safe spaces that provide intervention, emotional support and treatment services for young victims of abuse.”