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The story shows that :
• Asma was abused by her father .
• Because she is a small child , she requires different recovery tools than older children , such as playing and drawing .
• Asma has other types of reaction , such as bedwetting and nightmares .
Asma from Sudan
Asma was born in 2015 . She lived with her parents until she was 3 years old . Her childhood at that time was good , and she was happy . She often went to the park or went shopping with her parents and her younger sister , Jalila . They were nice days .
When she was about 3 years old , her life changed . Her parents started to have problems . Her father began to beat her mother and refused to take care of Jalila . He injured Asma ’ s mother so badly that she had to go to hospital . Asma was upset by the violence and the injuries to her mother . Her mother asked for a divorce .
Asma loved her parents , even her father , and the divorce was very difficult for her . Both she and Jalila were overwhelmed by sadness and anxiety .
After the divorce , Asma , Jalila and their mother went to live with Asma ’ s mother ’ s relatives . The extended family included grandfather and grandmother , three uncles and two aunts , all living in the same household . Asma had no private area to herself . Her mother had separated from her father , but Asma and Jalila went to stay with their father at his family ’ s house on weekends . Every week , Asma also went to kindergarten .
In 2019 , while she was visiting , her father abused Asma sexually . He penetrated her with his finger while she was sleeping and told her not to tell her mother . The abuse continued each time she visited ; she told no-one . On one holiday , her father became even more violent . He molested her , beat her and threatened her with a knife . Despite her father ’ s threats , she tried to talk to her paternal grandfather about what was happening , but he did not believe her and beat her for lying .
When Asma returned to her mother ’ s house , she did not tell anyone what had happened , but her behaviour began to change . She was fearful and refused to go to the kindergarten . She stopped playing with her sister . At the time , her mother did not understand what was wrong . When the next holiday came and she was expected to visit her father again , she started crying . Finally , she told her mother what had happened to her .
Her mother took her to the Family and Child Court and a paediatrician did a physical assessment . When the tests confirmed that Asma had been molested , the police imprisoned her father for a few months . For a period , Asma felt safe . Then she started to have nightmares . A short time afterwards , she began wetting her bed . She displayed severe fear reactions when she heard her father ’ s name .
When released from prison , Asma ’ s father went to the Personal Status Court to petition to see his two daughters , and the court granted him access . When Asma ’ s mother refused to implement the ruling , the judge imprisoned her for a month . This worried Asma even more , and Asma ’ s symptoms of anxiety and fear increased . She had more nightmares about her father and feelings of insecurity . Her mother ’ s family tried their best to support the two girls until Asma ’ s mother came out of prison .