Dealing with Guilt

Hi, guys! Today I want to talk about guilt. Everyone gets guilt from sexual abuse. You think that 'Well, I could have stopped it' or 'I could have done something'. No one should be blamed or feel guilty about this. The point is, you are doing something now. Most likely, you couldn't have stopped it, and if you could, it's not your responsibility as the victim. Nearly everyone responds as freezing in their tracks, or having a feeling of floating away.

If a friend, family member, or anyone attempts to victim-blame or make you feel guilty, no matter who they are, they are wrong. My whole father's side of the family sided with him instead of me, and tried to make me feel guilty about publicizing my story and trying to help people. If they don't want me and others to get better, they are not worth being around. Trust me. They will try to poison your mind and hurt you. Try to find supportive, loving people, and if they are already there, embrace them. There's nothing wrong with accepting help and love and getting a hug when you need it.

Hello!

Hi, everyone. I'm 13 years old. I want to tell you all that sexual abuse can happen to anyone. Sometimes you feel worthless, insecure, stressed, scared, angry, and fearful all at the same time. This is a place not only to share my story, but for women everywhere to be able to connect with someone. I see all of my family, friends, even strangers, and look at all these strong, beautiful women, and I wonder why men choose-and yes they choose- to harm us. We are powerful. It's time to end ignorance of abuse. It's time to end blame for abuse. Everyone that goes through this can get better. It's been almost a year since I told my mom that I was molested by my own father. That I was scared to visit him again. I'm not saying it's easy-far from it. I know it's difficult going through both the experience and the prosecution-but we, as a gender, need to speak up and be heard. This is sort of a continuation of my RAINNmaker page, but in a format that can be updated easier and more can be said. Thank you to all the support I've gotten!

My RAINNmaker page: http://rainnmakers.rainn.org/itookmypowerback

It's for donating to other survivors of sexual abuse and keeps hotlines open.