Friday, March 29, 2013

Government Pay Attention to Child Abuse And Its Damage To Society And Children

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and also Sexual Assault Awareness Month. A friend of mine Ms Patricia McKnight asks why aren't they separated and each topic given its own month for awareness. I agree with her. They should each get their own month.

In one of her recent blog articles, Ms McKnight talks about how child abuse and domestic violence are neither one getting the attention they need from our country's politicians and lawmakers. I hope you will go to the following link and read "Please tell me why this is not a crucial point of attention!" at Ms McKnight's blog survivorsjustice.

http://survivorsjustice.com/2013/03/28/please-tell-me-why-this-is-not-a-crucial-point-of-attention/ 

Why is the abuse of our children not important enough to draw the attention of those who make the laws of our lands. Is it because children can't vote? Why does it seem that only survivors of child abuse, rape and domestic violence are the only ones speaking out and wanting critical changes so that our children will be safe? Every parent in our country should be demanding that laws be made to protect our children.


Another blog post that I would like to call your attention to is on the blog Making the Shift, Heal My PTSD. The title of this post is "The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Adult Disorders." The information submitted in this post by provided by Libby M.

http://healmyptsd.com/2013/03/the-impact-of-childhood-trauma-on-adult-disorders.html

Maybe if the government was more aware of what child abuse and domestic violence costs our nation in medical care and mental care then they would pay more attention and make laws to protect our children. As you know, I am a survivor of incest. I am also a survivor of domestic violence and living in a family with the growing disease of alcoholism. I am one of many. There would not be nearly so many citizens in need of expensive health care if we hadn't been abused as children. Just how much money do you think that would save our nation? Putting a sexual abuser of children in jail for just a few years and then releasing him/her back out on the streets to abuse again isn't enough. When they are in jail, nothing is done to change their sick way of thinking. Why should they be released to hurt more children?


From the blog Evil Sits at the Dinner Table, I would like to share the article "The Child Inside Wants To Heal and Will Even Re-Create Trauma To Get Our Attention."

http://ordinaryevil.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/the-child-inside-wants-to-heal-and-will-even-re-create-trauma-to-get-our-attention/

Childhood trauma and its memories don't go away. Our subconscious mind stores the trauma and sometimes hides it away from the victim, for awhile. The emotional energy from the trauma is also stored by the subconscious until it can be resolved. Recreating the trauma so that it can be healed is why survivors sometimes get into abusive relationships in their adult life. The mind wants you to heal. As survivors who choose to confront our abuse and our abusers, we are often told to let it go because that was a long time ago. The subconscious doesn't let it go until the trauma is healed. Flashbacks are part of the subconscious trying to heal. Flashbacks happen when the survivor is safe and the mind thinks it is time to deal with the abuse. It is my belief that many mental illnesses come from the trauma of our childhood. Childhood sexual abuse is the worst form of abuse for the damage that it causes physically, emotionally and mentally.


The last blog post that I want to share with you is from a wonderful Aussie bloke (That's Aussie for man. I love the language and accent.) that I have followed for a few years now because he keeps me grounded with his no none sense way of writing. My friend, Craig Harper, tells it like it is. I read everyone of his blog articles on his blog Motivational Speaker / Craig Harper.  I don't comment on all of them but I did twice on the article called "Dear Women of the World. . ."

http://www.craigharper.com.au/self-improvement/dear-women-of-the-world/

Many survivors of childhood abuse have low self-worth as a result of the shame and the emotional abuse that goes hand-in-hand with the physical and sexual abuse that they endure. I warn you ahead of time that Mr. Harper uses a certain 4-letter word in his article but it just seems to fit what he is expressing. It didn't bother me in the least. I even chuckled a little at his use of it. The last short paragraph of the article says it all quite well so I am sharing it here word for word:

"Changing your default setting and your internal dialogue from 'I am crap' to 'I am okay' to 'I am pretty freakin' awesome', is not a quick process but the good news is, it's possible. Totally possible. If I'm someone who you trust, respect and pay attention to as a writer and mentor, then pay attention (and don't over-think it) when I tell you that you are...

...enough."

Thank you Craig Harper for your article to the women of the world. I hope that they listen. The article could also fit if you are a man who has been abused and have problems with low self-worth.
Patricia

12 comments:

shardsofglasscwseymore said...

I commend your work. Nobody ever intervened in my childhood and there were so many signs and symptoms of abuse. Everyone held their peace! My new book due for release in the upcoming months channels my attempts to "Cry Out". Where nobody heard or cared. CW Seymore. Shardsofglasscwseymore.com

Patricia Singleton said...

CW, I thank you for your kind words. I am sad that your childhood was like mine in that no one paid attention to your pain and no one rescued you from the abuse. I wish you success with your book. I read the preview and it sounds like a book that everyone should be. Thank you for sharing the link to your website and book.

Janette Scharenborg said...

just wish I could re-blog this to my blog, such a moving story xxx Keep up the excellent work

Rafiel said...

Terrible, terrible stuff. I didn't need to read all of this to understand your feelings and get a jist of what happened, being an empath (actually, maybe I didn't want to read it all, haha).

I have a similar blog to yours, thought I'd link it incase you were interested!

http://onespiritualmission.blogspot.co.uk/

Keep up the good work!

Patricia Singleton said...

Janette, thank you. What you can do is write your own blog post and talk about how my article made you feel and attach a link to this article to yours. I do it all the time. That is what I did with this article. Patricia McKnight inspired me to write my article after reading hers. The link to this article is http://patriciasingleton.blogspot.com/2013/03/government-pay-attention-to-child-abuse.html

Patricia Singleton said...

Janette, if you do as I suggested, come back here and leave the link to your own article so I and my readers can find your blog and read the article.

Patricia Singleton said...

Rafiel, welcome to my blog. I can't tell you specifically where the title or the subtitle of my blog came from. My higher self gave me the title. I do see myself as a lightworker with a very specific mission - that of helping myself and other survivors of childhood sexual abuse to heal. I, and others like me, spread the light of healing and love, especially self-love to those who sometimes have never experienced either in their lifetimes. I sometimes share the spiritual side of my life here but not as much as I share about healing from incest. I know what I write about is difficult for others to read and understand if they haven't been there themselves. Another part of my purpose is to educate those who don't know about incest and its effect upon the child. Those of us who are advocates in this field get a little, or a lot, frustrated with government agencies and the court system and society who are all still blaming or ignoring the victims. I like what I just saw on your blog.

Anonymous said...

I feel great hope as I see these movements grow. There's a lot of blogs out there on the abuse of children, and mine is but one.

It is great to see your eloquent voice in the mix.

If only the government could see.

Patricia Singleton said...

Words Fall From My Eyes, thank you for your visit to my blog and your kind words. I agree, "If only the government could see." Now off to visit your blog.

Patricia Singleton said...

Colleen, How nice to see you. You are very welcome. Hope you are doing well.

Shawn said...

I love reading Craig Harper's articles as well! I follow him regularly. And that article specifically is powerful. My wife's mother was abused as a child and as she told me, it was not an easy or quick process to overcome that. Luckily she met her loving and caring husband that restored her faith in men so they could have a baby that would later become my wife.
Thank you for sharing this article!

Patricia Singleton said...

Shawn, thank you for your comment and your visit to my blog. I am glad that your mother-in-law was able to find the love of a good man. I, too, am blessed by having a loving husband who has allowed me the space to do what I needed to heal. Healing isn't easy or quick and the survivor is worth the effort to heal. Have a glorious day and give your mother-in-law a hug next time you see her.