My name is Tiasha and I'm here to tell others my story! I was sexually abused by my mother's ex-boyfriend! I use to be scared to say anything about the rape, but I knew it was best for me to start talking about it! Although I'm scared to like be around any male alone I've decided to let the world know my story!

Sexual Abuse Victim

© Tiasha Anderson

Tears are always running down my face
I hang my head low thinking "what a disgrace?"
The tears are coming from all the damage you caused
What do you want now, a round of applause?

I've watched you rape and molest me right before my eyes
Now the only...

I see the first morning sun, as it wakens the day
As it peeks from the east, I really can’t say
Just how I will feel, as it moves east to west
To the last ray of light, putting the day down to rest


Many thoughts will fill my mind, as I watch the sun move
Will I stay grounded today, will I find that right grove
My composure my selfness will I be able to maintain
The thoughts and the visions will I be able to contain


With the sun moving west, and time moving too
I watch ever so peaceful with the sky made of blue
A relaxing vision to see all played out
As the sun and moon dance and move all about


With my...

What is Sexual Abuse?


Sexual abuse is when someone with less power is tricked, trapped, coerced, or bribed into any type of sexual experience. Power imbalance may result from the perpetrator’s age, size, position, experience, or authority and includes kissing, fondling, being forced to touch the abuser’s genitals, anal, oral or vaginal sex, and non-contact acts such as exhibitionism, exposure to pornography, voyeurism or sexual comments or looks.

If, as a child, you experienced anything that felt sexual or yucky with someone who had more power than you, you were abused.

It was abuse:
■Even...

This is a poem about how I was sold for money by my own mom. I'm ten years old and finally ran away and got help. I let it go three years. And now I'm in foster care.

Truth

© Kari

Shut your mouth and listen to what I have to say,
I'm going to take you back to that one specific day.
I was laying in bed alone while listening to you and him talk on the phone.
You said, "Well if they have the money I don't see why not,
She'll be ready by 9 o'clock"
You came in and said it's time to get up,
Shower well and I'll make you pretty with make up.
In a pretty white dress and hair done to match,
You told me I'm...

"Rape's not something where you just go, "Well, get over it" or "Believe in love and peace, my child, and it'll all be over." Well, fuck you, that isn't the answer. It's a great thought, OK, but you can go and stick crystals up your butt and get on with it. I'm all for love and peace, but that's not the side I work on. If somebody would talk about it, or worse, joke about it, I would be ready to kill. That's not healing. It was a very long time after that before I was able to be with anyone again. And it has never been the same as it was before"


"Something comes up like bubbles to the surface,...

Christina: When I talk about my childhood sexual abuse, I see it as an opportunity to validate my inner child. As I reveal the horror of what happened to her, I’m inviting her out of the shadows of fear and shame. She’s accustomed to other’s dismissive denial, but telling the truth gives her the honor she deserves.

Bethany: I remember my childhood nightmare of screaming with all my might but no noise would come out. Holding in the secret abuse is just like that. I was constantly screaming inside but no one heard me. Finally, I made myself heard. I first began sharing when I was nineteen....

My whole life, (I'm 17), I've had to live with the abuse expressed in this poem. And for a very long time, I believed I was everything she said I was. Until I met God. I learnt a lot more about myself and who I could be and deserved to be and finally left. It's been almost a year now, and life couldn't be any happier for me!

Couldn't Be More Wrong

© May Winter

You told me that love wasn't meant for me
That I was the burden that everyone didn't need.
You let me be violated, stripped of all my pride
Took no acknowledgment of the hurt I tried to hide.
You looked at me in disgust whenever I passed...

I hate blood and gore, but I love watching medical shows. When they show mangled flesh, I have to cover my eyes. It’s hard to imagine all the pain the person is suffering and even if they can be saved, the struggle that recovery requires. Sometimes I think it would be easier to let the person die because I don’t understand how someone could possibly recover and have a real life after having their body so torn. But the doctors don’t think like that; they understand the healing process and they’ve seen what their skillful work plus the restorative abilities of the human body can accomplish....

Does time heals all wounds? I’ve heard many survivors of abuse try to soothe themselves by saying, “Soon, this will pass.” It does take time to heal—and lots of it. But time alone won’t repair the soul mutilation of abuse anymore than it will repair the destruction caused by an earthquake. Sexual abuse ravages the depths of your being and to be restored, you’ll need to face each wounded area. Healing takes great quantities of perseverance, courage, strength and yes, time.

Recognizing the Abuse

The first step in beginning to heal from any kind of abuse is to recognize and acknowledge...