“Please hear.  Please listen.  Please take action. 

You have the power to
Believe Victims,
Support Survivors, and
PREVENT Child Abuse. 

This letter is anonymous.  This letter is personal.  It’s about an insidious threat to Virginia’s children. I’ve lived it.  I’m a statistic.  I’m 65 years old. I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and I’m adding my voice to this fight to be heard.   I’m being vulnerable to you. It’s not easy. 

Only a very few knew my secret.  I didn’t disclose to a professional and seek help until age 55 after a triggering situation that sent me into a spiral.  As a child, I didn’t have services.  I didn’t have the knowledge or the power to understand I could say, “No.”  I am not certain what would have happened in my young life had I disclosed.  I am still protecting myself, and as a result, protecting my abuser. People may infuriatingly say to victims, “Get over it. Move on. Forgive.”

Nah, it doesn’t happen like that. I have lived a life of healing.  It has not been linear. It’s an up and down and around the bend struggle and endeavor.  It can be ugly.  Just like the abuse.

 As I child, I experienced confusion, guilt, secrecy, bed wetting and prolonged thumb sucking, failing first grade, and nightmares.  As I matured, I experienced shame, a sense of betrayal, anorexia, compulsive exercising, low self-esteem, poor body image, anxiety, bouts of depression.  Cycles of forgiveness mixed with WTF anger again.  

I am here now.  I continue to grow and heal. I have support, understanding, and love. I am not alone.  

Child abuse can sentence a child to a lifetime of secrecy and shame.  Who would you want to protect? Who in your life could be vulnerable? 

Please support the full funding of Virginia’s Children’s Advocacy Centers. Child Forensic Interviews are an integral part of any investigation into child sexual abuse.  These centers should not have to scrape funding together from fundraising to try to provide services to their young survivors and their families. When centers are forced to fundraise to make ends meet, the result is a loss of services directed at EDUCATION and PREVENTION.  

As a 65 year old survivor, I have chosen to support an advocacy center. It is a mission of mine.  It’s part of my healing to serve others and to do what I can.  

Virginia CAN and MUST do better for its children.  Respect the bravery of children who come forth with their stories.  Hear them. 

Please fully fund the existing 19 CACs and the 20%!! of the state that DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE ACCESS TO THESE SERVICES.  

With hope for the future,

“Mary”