by Nunya Carley

Created on: June 27, 2008

Childhood sexual abuse leads to loss of life, by way of losing your soul, and quality of life. There are some quotes that have been seen in the news and on internet forums, following the US supreme court's ruling against the death penalty for child rapists- and they NEED to be addressed. With many to chose from, I will quote just three.

"Rape victims eventually heal (even if not completely, and even if it takes a life time). Taking a life for a psychological harm seems unjustified to me"

Rape and other crimes "may be as devastating in their harm, as here, but 'in terms of moral depravity and of the injury to the person and to the public,' they cannot be compared to murder in their 'severity and irrevocably"

"I agree the crime is not equal to the punishment."

It seems that perhaps these people have never been involved with a victim, whether it be a friend, family member, or lover -so I would like to give you just one insight.

Try to live with a beautiful woman who cries for no reason. She sleeps with a knife, gun, bat, or golf club AND a bottle of aerosol spray - to temporarily blind her "could-be" attacker. She can't sleep anyway b/c there are shadows on the wall that look like a man trying to break in - but once she manages to sleep, it is full of nightmares that make her whine & whimper, followed by a dull grinding sound for the rest of the night because the stress makes her grit and damage her teeth.

She has lost what little sexual appetite she had, because of the medicine, which has also damaged her liver. Her eyes look dead, no sparkle - and she has lost the will to make herself look attractive - she feels it may bring unwanted attention.

Simple things, such as tickling, spook her - sending her into a week long fit of flashbacks & depression. One word, one smell, the sight of one color can have the same effect.

Her self esteem, if she'd actually ever developed one, is nonexistent. She thinks she is fat, although she is not. Thinks you don't love her, and nothing you can do or say helps convince this magically beautiful woman that she is the most stunning creature you'd ever had the privilege of loving. She thinks you want every and any other woman, if you even glance away.

She is in a constant state of fear, scared all the time - and it feels like a full time job just to maintain a relationship.

Several years later, including half her life of counseling, nothing changes; she is scarred for life. LIFE. She never experienced a "normal" healthy life, never will. That criminal essentially took away her life, murdered her soul, innocence, trust. "Living" is nothing more than just merely breathing and going through the motions because she really has no life - exactly why so many of these victims end up committing suicide.

HOW CAN ANYONE NOT CONSIDER THIS A LOSS OF LIFE?

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