I Am a Survivor

I am a survivor!  I have had a lifetime of sexual assault.  The first time was from an uncle that lived in my grandmother’s home.  He was my caretaker when my grandmother was at work.  He would have me fondle him and at times would touch me.  I never told anyone.  This started my journey of being victimized time and time again, the next time in my life was by a neighbor boy, he would touch me and make a game out of it, as I was a teen when I was babysitting, sleeping on the couch and the father of the children tried touching me and crawling on top of me, luckily his wife came out when I yelled and the man pretended that he was too drunk to know what he was doing.  After all this, a man I was dating coerced me to have sex with him after pleading with him on several occasions saying that I was not ready,  I just gave up.  Lastly, I married with not knowing what a positive sexual experience was; the sexual abuse I suffered with him was as devastating as in my younger years.

Today, I can truly say that I am a survivor, and I know what it is like to have a loving relationship.  It took many years of counseling and, at times, it is still a journey.  I have turned those years of sexual abuse into a new book for my life.  I have a wonderful job working to end violence and giving back to survivors every day; I am blessed to say that I work at Transitions. 

Submitted by a Transitions staff person