Incidence of Child Sexual Abuse

AuthorLoree Armstrong Beniuk, Jo-Anne Hughes, and Jack Reynolds
Pages3-11
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
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