Monsters at home

This week, a 33-year old Michigan women was arrested for offering her 7-year old daughter as a sexual object for the weak, lame, limp men who find pleasure in brutally abusing young girls.

Read that sentence again. The monster in this child’s world was the very person she loved and trusted more than any other. Her own mother was selling the child like a lump of meat to any filthy pig that inquired.

This makes me physically ill. If this story does not sicken you. Get help, now. You are probably part of the problem.

According to the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, “Approximately one in three girls is sexually abused before age 18, and one in four by age 14. Studies show that one in six boys is sexually abused before age 16.”

The sickest part of this is that the people who abuse these kids are usually relatives. Other relatives know about it and choose not to report it. Why? They might upset the delicate balance of the family. The abuser might leave and how would they survive without them?

Take it from a victim of child abuse, no matter how poor you become when the bastard is gone, you will still be richer in spirit and healing than you have ever been.

My mother suffered abuse for dozens of years before finally escaping. She had no high school diploma, no income and no training. Guess what? We made it. We have some good memories and we are semi-normal adults. I say semi, because my childhood made me strong, opinionated and outspoken, which in my southern world is not considered normal.

What will happen now to the 7-year old in the Michigan case? I hope the mother rots in jail for all her days. But the child will miss that monster. She will need years of counseling, love and caring to achieve even a small semblance of normalcy.

Is there a child in your world that needs rescue? Could you stop the intense pain and suffering of a helpless victim? If you are wondering about someone right now, the answer is yes. If you suspect child abuse, report it. You are not tearing up a family, you are saving the soul of a child.

There is a place to turn if you need help.

“The Barbara Sinatra Children's Center remains committed to Barbara and Frank Sinatra's vision that all children and their families who suffer the devastation of physical or sexual child abuse or other emotional traumas will receive the care, respect and treatment they deserve. When the Center opened, Mr. and Mrs. Sinatra promised that no child who looks to the Center for help will be turned away due to inability to pay for treatment.”

Support the center or a center near you.
Speak out if you suspect child abuse. Here is a list of state numbers for reporting abuse
Save a child today.