Touched: When Innocence is stolen the pain last forever

There will be 500,000 babies born this year in the United States in alone that will be sexually molested before the age of 18 (http://cachouston.org/child-sexual-abuse-facts). This means there are more than 42 million adult survivors of child sexual abuse in the U.S.( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006). So you can imagine what the numbers are now, the global figures are even more staggering. Children of every gender, age, race, ethnicity, background, socioeconomic status and family structure are clearly at risk. It isn’t strangers our children have to fear… (italics, and spaced so this sentence stands out, maybe larger font too) Most child sexual abusers are respected members of the community drawn to settings where they gain easy access to children like schools, clubs and churches. Even worse to comprehend is when the abuser is a parent, foster parent, or relative. The two individuals that allowed me to share their heartbreaking stories of molestation are part of a fraternity of millions whose lives have been forever changed by individuals that were entrusted to be their protectors but instead would become their tormentors. “What I do know is that sexual abuse is completely preventable. We, as parents, educators, siblings, and caretakers should bear the responsibility to take any and all measures possible to keep our children safe. When we allow our children to have their innocence stolen it saddles the victims with feelings of shame, self hatred and pain. The long term consequences can be devastating” – T. Tykeem