I Have a Voice

Two years ago today I walked into a police station and did one of the hardest things I never imagined I would have to do. I turned my mom and step-father in for sexual abuse that had been going on for over a year. Today, two years later… I am entering the Church our family use to attend to be a volunteer for RAHAB ministries. According to RAHAB, they offer concrete solutions to human trafficking by putting Truth and Love into action. I firmly stand by RAHAB and its mission to end human trafficking right where we are in our own community. It may be an eye-opener that, “About 20 million people worldwide fall victim to human trafficking each year.” (DeWine, 2018). Possibly more shocking is that according to ABC News, a recent report said Ohio ranks fourth in the nation for human trafficking. Human trafficking is happening right here where we live, so what do we do about it? I am saying it’s time for a call to action, wake up Ohio! Its time we do more for those in need of prayer, assistance, food, safety, and love and belonging. That is why I choose to volunteer with such a God-honoring and woman empowering organization like RAHAB. “ Reaching Above Hopelessness and Brokenness Inc., (RAHAB) is unapologetically Christian and based on a desire to model God’s story of setting people free physically and spiritually.” (Rivertree, 2019). There are so many other amazing organizations out there similar to this one to be apart of, all you have to do is have a passion and get involved.

My Story

I was a young and nieve 18-year-old girl who always obeyed her parents, I was quiet in school and well mannered. If you knew me then you would say, “she’s nice” or “she’s the quiet one”. Little did anyone know that I felt imprisoned in my own home. I was sexually and emotionally abused in my own home for over a year, but it seemed like a lifetime. The details still resonate as flashbacks in my mind. While other parts of the abuse are not so clear, cut and dry and seem to have been lost with some of the blurred memories of my childhood home. I find no better description of my mental state throughout the abuse than these lyrics from Katy Perry’s song, Roar: “ I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath. Scared to rock the boat and make a mess. So I sat quietly, agreed politely. I guess that I forgot I had a choice. I let you push me past the breaking point. I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything.” Once I had succumbed to the overbearing abuse I left the home one night in late January early February of 2018. I fleed to a safe haven at a friend's house where I received a multitude of support and encouragement. Then on February 8th, 2018 I entered the police station to turn my parents in. My world was tossed upside down for a while and most of it was a blur as my body felt as though it was running on adrenaline. Then on the morning of February 9th, 2018 my second worst nightmare came true. An article in the Canton Repository was published about my case. My name was removed, but everyone who knew my parents knew I was the victim. At the time I was mortified because I thought that being a victim made me weak. But, from the famous words of Kelly Clarkson, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” I had to toss out an entire belief system and start over. I thought it was normal to feel shame, doubt, to be unwanted, to be unloved, and to be scared all the time. Because I was groomed and brainwashed over the course of my childhood that I never knew what “normal” truly was. But that’s the beauty of it, my deepest darkest experience not only changed my life forever, but it also changed my life for the better. All the glory goes to God for making the woman that I can look in the mirror and be proud of who she has become and not be ashamed of her past. Life is a journey and not a destination and I am blessed; for in this life I have been giving empathy to connect on a deeper level of understanding with other survivors. I was pushed down, but what matters is that I got back up, and I came fighting. Today I go from victim to survivor, silence to eloquence, belittled to empowered, and helpless to hopeful. I want to use my past to empower and advocate for other women in the future. To let them know we have a voice too. We won’t be silenced any longer and it is okay to break down our walls of vulnerability, not because we are women but because we are human! I choose to have a voice. So what will you do?

References

Links to My Story

(read in this order below)

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