By Connie J Lee
Silence. If I said nothing else, we all know the word silence has been used by generations to inflict power, subjugation, pain, submission, and tears. It has seared through the darkest recesses of our minds, where our deepest secrets lie; the ones we have dragged through the muck and mire of adulthood and have labeled them names of rejection, unworthiness, and unloved. Why do we continue to lick our tattered wounds, and guard them like an injured pet, whose eyes are begging for sympathy? Continually, we surround ourselves with family, relationships and bosses, who perpetuate the same interpersonal relationship dynamic, feeding the same wound, that causes so much pain. We do this because this has become our comfort zone. It is when we learn new tools through counseling, self-help, support groups, God, books, art therapy, therapy, music, healthy boundaries, in our new jobs and our new relationships where we will grow and develop the skills we need. We must become a complete us, before uniting to compliment someone else. For future generations, at some point, we have to take it upon ourselves to seek the help we need to heal, so we do not repeat another multi-generational epidemic of sexual assault. Victims were chosen by their perpetrators but now have a lot of emotional damage to overcome.
So, how did the sexual assault of children become such an acceptable occurrence for a thriving and progressive cultural, which thrives on its deep-rooted traditions and legacies? Generations of families before us, knew sexual assault, was a taboo subject. It wasn't reported because it was a family matter. Children did not feel they had anyone to report, or anywhere to go. Rape and incest have thrived and flourished through blood lines for as long as children have been born from one year to the next. I know my abuser told me that he would kill me, my mother, and the rest of my family if I told; and I knew he was very capable. I was eleven. I also knew it ran in the family. My mother seemed to favor the attention of men, more than that of her children. I like many children before me, had nowhere to turn, and no one to tell.
We see today's generation of women, from the Olympic Gymnasts and Swimmers, to actors and actresses standing in courage, speaking, their truth, boldly, courageously, and sharing their pain. The pain shared by a multitude of women, boys, and girls, who proceeded them; who had no voice. The voices of thousands of generations, who struggle to have a voice today! We are the voice for those whose pain was so great they could no longer endure. Who waited so long for someone to help them; to listen to them; to believe them. We are the rallying cry behind their unheard voices; raising our voices in unison for them, crying "NO MORE SILENCE!"
We make a stand together as a society today, for the draconian era thinking to be gone! We will all have to change; and it will not be easy. It will not be pleasant. It is vitally necessary for all to survive; or we will be inundated through the courts and criminal system with law suits and prison for those who choose to continue to commit these heinous crimes against women and children. We can get involved with our local sexual assault and human trafficking advocacy groups, and mentor groups. We need to change laws, CPS, Criminal Justice System, and Mental Health Systems, to provide the quality resources survivors of sexual assault and trauma deserve. Today, we stand as the old generation and new generation united! We stand fighting the Last Great Frontier known as "Sexual Assault"! We will stand for Silence No More! Together we can make our children's future a great place to live! TOGETHER WE STAND!
Connie Lee: 02/08/2018
Article Source: Silence The Enemy Within Is Injustice, Poverty, and the Silence of Many