jumping up and down on it. She had no idea that short, simple, inappropriate
question would soon change her life forever.
Ayana spent the next 6 years of her life hurting, disillusioned and shrinking. She
was caught in a web of inappropriate touching and muffled cries for help in the
hands of her uncle’s abuse. When she spent the night at granny’s, he would
wait until late at night when everyone else was sleeping and make her cry. He
would prey on her when she was most vulnerable and unsuspecting and slowly
shatter the innocence of this beautiful little girl.
***
Though violence and abuse runs rampant in our communities, abuse of any
type is not a popular subject. No one ever wants to talk about sexual abuse,
and especially not concerning children. It is almost as if our society feels that if
we don’t speak about it, it’s not happening, and especially not in our own
families. But the truth is that according to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, 1 in 4 girls
and 1 in 6 boys will be molested before the age of 18 and, in most instances, by
a family member or someone they know. An even more staggering statistic is
the fact that fewer that 10 percent will ever tell anyone about the devastation.
The reality is the dirty little secret of abuse that our society struggles to deal with,
is not only shielding our awareness of the problem, but it is also muzzling the cries
of our children. How can they cry for help about something they’ve never heard
about?
Recently, a friend posted on Facebook that she was taken aback when her 8
year old daughter asked her about sex. When asking her daughter where the
topic came from she told her they were talking about it at school. My friend was
brave enough to openly admit that she wasn’t ready to talk about sex with her
baby girl. Naturally, as parents we want to protect our children and keep them
from growing up too early. We are worried that if we begin the conversation, it
may spark a premature curiosity and lead to promiscuity.
Actually the opposite is true. Sex in 2014 is everywhere. It is the topic in music, it’s
everywhere on the internet, it is a focus in most of the network television shows,
and whether we want to deal with it or not, parents, they are talking about it in
school.
Tibay Trans4orm Magazine, Life a Full, Authentic Life | June 2014
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