The real problem of childhood sex abuse is small bit of the act itself but the secrecy and figuring out if and when and how to tell an adult about it, if you’ve experienced it the way I have. After the abuse, the child had to choose to stay quiet about it. No reason to ruin a perfectly caring and close knit family( extended relatives included). The child, in order to stand by her decision to not tell, convinces herself that she will complicates the family’s harmony and peace, or no one will believe or do something about it(might as well not tell), projects the negative response he/ she will get. The child, in turn carries this thinking into the adult life. Fearing by conjuring up scenarios of rejection, the victim’s adult life becomes passive and full of fears when facing Inevitable difficulties in life.

I was molested by my cousin when I was 7. I can tell you, this is the absolute worst kind of abuse. The abuse didn’t incur any physical evidence; it was quiet so no one comes across and finds out. It wasn’t obvious that the cousin was an abuser. The burden solely rests on the victim to either tell or keep it quiet. Such an awkward conversation with little ease of describing it is the MOST painful and debilitating of all about molestation by a family member. I wish I can find a support group for adults who had gone through this.