Amanda’s story: Child Sexual Abuse

Amanda stared at the tall, lengthy silhouette of her neighbor, Mr. Condit, as he pulled up his pants and slowly buckled his belt.  Suddenly, he invaded the silence by calling her name seductively, “Amanda.” She reluctantly looked around at him and saw him waving the $10 bill he had in his hand. He quietly placed it on the table next to him. This was the routine every time she would come over to his house to get money for school. 

Amanda grew up in a household with 7 siblings and a single mother who tried her best to meet the family’s needs, but they were always in need. So, one day, Amanda approached her neighbor, Mr. Condit to ask for monetary help. Mr. Condit was always nice to her. He would wave from his backyard and smile at her. She felt safe with him until Mr. Condit told her one day, “You are going to have to give back something in exchange for my money, Amanda.”

“I don’t understand,” Amanda said quite innocently. “Come over to my house after school and I will show you,” he said with a mischievous smile.  

Amanda soon found out that Mr. Condit was not the man that she thought he was. He took advantage of her innocence and as she now grabbed her underwear and slipper, running out of the house was easy compared to the memories that would not escape her.

Most of the child abuse incidences are rarely reported. In Amanda’s case, Mr. Condit told her that if she told anyone, he would hurt her entire family. Amanda is not alone. Many children are fearful of their perpetrator, which is usually someone they know. Even when some of the parents (usually single mothers) know, they won’t say anything. In Amanda’s case, her mother had a notion of what was going on, but she knew that Mr. Condit was providing money that she couldn't, so she let it be.

This is not OK. Kids, like Amanda, who are being abused by adults that they once trusted, can be emotionally and psychologically damaged for life. I can attest to this because I am a survivor. Lucky for me, I found a way to channel my frustration by writing books on the topic. You can find some of my books on Amazon here. I have an innate passion for this subject because kids feel that they don’t have a voice and the idea that they can be violated in such a horrific way is not something that they can wrap their minds around.

No child can be prepared psychologically to cope with sexual stimulation; whether it is one time or repeatedly. Even smaller children (2 or 3 year old) who don’t know anything about sex will have issues later as a result of being violated. If the abuser is a relative, friend, neighbor or associate, it is even more difficult for the child since this is a person who the child may greatly admire. A child like this may want to please the perpetrator for fear of being unloved or hurt if he or she tells someone.

How do we break the silence? I did by writing my books, but what can you do? Don’t turn a blind eye. Look at this as a lifetime problem for a child and for society at large. I challenge you to buy my book, which is a similar story to mine. What this will do is to educate you on the effects of sexual abuse on a child. It will also give you an opportunity to introduce the book to someone who may have been sexually abused or a parent who may have a child in such a situation. In addition, proceeds of the book will go to a related charity. So buying the book today will lend a voice to this devastating issue that most of us don’t want to talk about and subsequently keeping it hush-hush!

Buy THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS right now and make a difference in a child’s or parent’s life!