by Georgette Peterson

Created on: June 19, 2008

Coping with incest and sexual abuse

Your an adult now-but still wondering how this atrocious act could have been committed, asking why you let it go on for so long, or wondering how could someone so trusted and loved could hurt you so badly? You might be asking these questions of yourself a lot, especially if you are a victim of sexual abuse. The sad truth is, 1 in 6 women in America will be victims of sexual assault, while the category more prone to sexual assault and abuse are women under the age of 30. Even more shocking is that at least 15% of these victims are under the age of 12. Twelve? Yes, so many have experienced the horror and shame of sexual abuse at the grade school level, and yet 60% of abuse victims do not report the incident to the authorities. Why? Victims of abuse are seldom compelled to come forward to tell their story for a few reasons: Shame, fear, and the feeling that your claim may not be validated or believed, is a couple of the top reasons abusers walk free from prosecution. Most victims feel guilty or afraid about reporting their incident, maybe the abuser is someone they know, like a close relative, or a friend, and find reasons to justify keeping their abuse a secret.

Coping with the effects of abuse can be a challenge, especially if your experience came at a young age; trying to find a way to deal with the past can keep you from enjoying the present, so what do you do if you are having trouble trying to cope? For some, remembering the experience itself may feel like relieving a nightmare, but try to keep the whole experience in a new perspective. A great way to cope with the past is to try to focus on the fact that you are not alone: many victims feel isolated, as if no one in their environment can relate to their experience. There are a staggering amount of men and women alike who share some terrible form of abuse in their past. Even more appalling is the amount of people that hide it from the world, most are too afraid to talk about it, or even acknowledge its presence. It's an unfortunate epidemic, and it's not as uncommon as you might believe. There are help lines and organizations dedicated to helping victims of abuse work through their emotional baggage, and they are just a phone call or a click away. RAINN, (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is a charity organization devoted to fighting against sexual assault and abuse, and has support available to help victims of abuse.

If trying a support group isn't enough, try to work

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