I was very young at the time. Not for sure exactly but I was younger than 9. My babysitter left her son to watch me really quick while she ran an errand. I asked him for a snack and he told me to sit on top of him and he would give me one. I had to take of my pants and underwear so he could touch me down there. I believe this happened twice as far as I can remember. We were then caught….. well at least I was. He blamed me for coming out of the bathroom without my pants on and I got sat in a corner. I remember crying and trying to tell my babysitter what happened but her son won. My mom asked me what happened later that day but I told her nothing happened. I didn’t know it was bad since I was a child and didn’t know any better. I’ve kept all the anger, disgust, and shame in for years. Recently after being in a mental hospital I opened up about it more and am now seeing the affects it has had on me over time.
— Julia, age 16
Dear Julia – thank you so much for sharing your story here. I’m glad to hear you are opening up more about what happened – keeping all of that inside is SO hard! I hope you’ve heard this a million times but I’ll say it anyway: what happened was NOT your fault. I’m sorry you were put in the corner for it but it wasn’t your fault. I hope you will continue to open up and try to let go of the shame and disgust you’re feeling. I know this is so much easier said than done, but you have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m rooting for you and I believe in you! Love, Alexis