‘This is not a male thing or a female thing. It is not a Hollywood thing or a political thing. It is a human thing.’ – Ellen DeGeneres
I was 10 years old. My dad was working full-time in order to pay the bills whilst my mum was in hospital having treatment for breast cancer. My grandparents were taking care of us – they would pick my siblings and I up from school and take us back to their house where they would let us watch Disney Channel and play with their doll house and eat chicken nuggets and chips for dinner. Once a week, they would drive me straight from school to my music lesson where I would stay for half an hour before returning to theirs for dinner.
But what I learnt in that class wasn’t about chords or the right order in which to press the keys to play Edelweiss. Instead I learnt about how it felt to have someone else’s hands in places no one had ever touched before, places that you never asked them to touch. I learnt what it feels like to know something is wrong but not knowing why or how to tell anyone. Because after all, who wants to tell a 10 year old girl about paedophilia.
I wish I could say that it stopped there. That I quit music lessons and suddenly my consent was always sought before a wandering hand laid itself upon my skin. But it didn’t. And for so many others, it didn’t stop at a wandering hand. I was lucky in that respect. But I shouldn’t have to say I was lucky because I wasn’t raped. It should be a human right not to have someone force themselves upon you when you have not consented. No means no, no matter the circumstances.
No matter who you are, no matter what you were wearing or how long it was before you told them no, it was not your fault. It is never your fault. They are and always will be, a rapist, and you are a survivor.
Till It Happens To You: https://youtu.be/ZmWBrN7QV6Y
I’m so proud of you for sharing ur story and of how far you’ve come in the 5 years I have known you 💜 You know i’m always here if you need me and that it’s not our past but our future that defines us and I know that you have a wonderful future ahead of you xxx
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Thank you 🙂 I look forward to growing and “glowing up” with you xxx
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I’m so proud of you for sharing your story. It’s so important because letting your story go out there may be what someone else needs to share theirs. I’m always here if you need a chat xx
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Thank you xx
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Sharing something like this can be difficult, but it gives strength to others in similar positions. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. It means a lot.
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Of course. We as girls gotta stick together and support and reach out. ❤️
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I feel so sorry for you. At least now you are ok. I have heard about #METOO and we were talking about it in class last week. You are very brave to share this and you have taught us all something.
Ellie x 💖💜🌟
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Thank you. x
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I’m so sorry to read what happened to you and you’re so brave to share your story, it’s truly inspirational.
Just because it wasn’t rape doesn’t mean it’s anything less insignificant. Paedophilia is paedophilia, lack of consent is lack of consent.
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Thank you. And thank you for saying that – I think a part of me always feels like my experience is invalid because it was assault not rape but the truth is that either can affect a person emotionally and physically in different ways. x
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