Surviving low self esteem
Our survivor story features surviving low self-esteem. Discovering what you want to do with your life, and moving on to happiness.
Generational abuse torch-passing
Are you the Cinderella or a stepsister in your family’s story of generational abuse? How will you pass on the generational abuse torch?
Early warning signs of Domestic Violence
Are there early warning signs of domestic violence? What early signs tell the difference between charisma and real character?
Strength in brokenness
The world breaks everyone and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.”— Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms. Broken doesn’t mean beyond repair.
Healing from scandal and abuse
Healing from scandal and abuse is good. But healing necessitates acknowledging the injury. You can’t heal from a wound that is never treated.
#Churchtoo means shut up and listen
many scandals that have rocked the Catholic church. Unfortunately, they have rocked every other denomination, faith, countless secular institutions and countless families. And the pain and tumult these scandals leave for non-offending members is massive. With that in mind, we wanted to share this piece.
5 tips for friends of survivors
Your friend has just told you that they have been sexually assaulted, abused, stalked or raped and you want to support them but you’re not sure what they need. Maybe it happened to them decades ago, in childhood, or maybe it was as recent as today. You want to help your friend in any way you can. Situations may vary, but here are 5 tips for friends of survivors.
How to cope with anxiety
Having anxiety is difficult to explain to people. Sometimes, you feel like everything is falling into place, and the next, your world feels like it’s crashing down on you. Stress, feelings of neglect, worries about the future, all of these can combine into an anxiety episode or attack.
9 things to know about consent
First published in Dinah’s Voice, republished with permission 9 Things to Know About Consent By Sheila Marie Connolly What exactly is consent? The word “consent” gets thrown around as if everyone understands it. But the nuances of the concept of consent can...
10 signs of a toxic relationship
No relationship is perfect, be it familial, a friendship, romantic relationship, or a marriage, yet any of these can be a toxic relationship
What a rape kit is (and isn’t)
Using one of these kits, certain evidence such as DNA and debris can be collected from a crime scene — and when it comes to assault, that crime scene is the survivor’s body.Even if you never have to use one, it can be helpful to know what exactly a rape kit is, and what it isn’t.
The Language of Abuse
How to lose the language of abuse and achieve the miracle of actually being able to think in the new language. Emotional language is everything.
How to Break the Cycle of Abusive Parenting
Are you a victim of abusive parenting and now a parent yourself? Wonder how to break the cycle of abusive parenting? Here are some ways.
Everyone needs a co-pilot
Trusting someone with your story of abuse is a huge hurdle to overcome if you have been sexually abused. You need a sexual abuse co-pilot.
Hierarchy of abuse
Society has ranked types of abuse in a hierarchy it considers most to least bad, and even buckets abuse into legitimate and illegitimate categories.
Why do Family Courts repeat their mistakes?
Family courts repeat their mistakes causing 700 children to lose their lives over 10 years. Barry Goldstein shows product recalls protect children better.
I come from a family of pedophiles, it’s OK to like Michael Jackson
I grew up in a family where everyone was either sexually abused, was an abuser, or facilitated abuse. And I still like Michael Jackson’s music.
New York Child Victims Act. How do I get justice?
New York’s Child Victims Act allows previously lapsed claims to be filed in court, the next issue for victims and survivors is how to access justice.
Abuse of Faith
Stories of clerical child sexual abuse are not limited to the Roman Catholic Church. The Southern Baptist church have a crisis of their own.
Maternal home visiting services prevent childhood trauma, saving lives, and money
20 years ago CDC research on childhood trauma, called ACEs, showed survivors lead shorter sicker lives. Why aren’t we preventing it?
Complex trauma and adoption
Why does noone talk about traumatized kids being raised by traumatized parents? Should complex trauma play a role in adoption?
What does it take to stop child abuse?
What does it take to stop child abuse? It takes all of us committing ourselves to stopping it. Do you know what to do? Here’s where to start.
Crisis hotlines: who, what, and why?
A lot of people call or chat crisis intervention help lines but what do they really offer, who exactly uses them, and do they really help?
The Stop Abuse Campaign submits testimony on the Child Victims Act
The Stop Abuse Campaign had the privilege of submitting testimony in support of the Child Victims Act that will protect children from sex abuse in New York
The Voice of Dylan Farrow
Dylan Farrow’s life still includes the injustice that comes with the way we deal with sex abuse. We need to listen to survivors.
Spending the holidays with your abuser
Many have the choice of attending holiday parties with their child sex abuser, or avoiding family at the holidays. Not an easy choice.
The Next Sex Scandals Will be Even Worse: We Must Protect Our Children
It feels like we have been inundated with a variety of sex scandals that seemed to start with Harvey Weinstein. The responses vary depending on political or financial interests and ignorance about sexism and misogyny. I can understand how many people might seek to...
Survivors Surviving the Holidays
The holidays tend to be a tough time of year for survivors of child abuse. But common decency and thoughtfulness can help you survive the holidays.
Who pays for child sex abuse
The cost to institutions of sex abuse does not reflect the whole picture. There’s a cost to society as well, and we pick that tab up as taxpayers.
Custody court crisis: Courts decisions proved dangerous by Meier Study
New DOJ research shows family courts across the US are more worried about upsetting abusive fathers than they are about protecting vulnerable children.
