Incidence of Child Sexual Abuse

• Author: Loree Armstrong Beniuk, Jo-Anne Hughes, and Jack Reynolds
• Pages: 3-11

3

Incidence of Child Sexual Abuse

My childhood was very normal until I was about ve years old. Beginning at the age

of ve and continuing until I was almost twelve, I was sexually abused by an uncle

who lived close by, who was almost like a big brother to me. He was nineteen when

it started. I trusted him then; it was fun to be with him. He used to take me around

with him—a very big deal to a ve-year-old.

All of this developed gradually. He started taking me to the barn to be alone

with him. Later, he began to fondle me and expose himself to me, and ask me to

kiss and handle him. I knew within myself that this wasn’t right, but he kept telling

me that this was our secret and that I wasn’t ever to tell anybody. He promised he

would never hurt me. It is true that he was never violent or angry. It was always “in

love,” so to speak.

Even though I knew it was somehow wrong, I was afraid to say anything or go

to anybody about it. But as years went on, his behaviour became more and more

aggressive. . . .

e abuse nally stopped when my family moved away from the farm and I no

longer had any contact with my uncle. When we made a return visit a year or so

later, he again tried to attack me. But I was able to resist. I was old enough then

and very afraid. I realized that I did have some rights.

It’s strange, isn’t it? As a child you feel like you don’t have any right to question

what an adult is doing. You are brought up to respect adults and think that they

know what is best. I found myself saying, “Well, I guess it must be O.K. . . . he’s a

grown-up.”

— Maxine Hancock & Karen Burton Mains, Child Sexual Abuse:

A Hope for Healing Child Sexual Abuse: A Brief History

one