Child Abuse Story From
Gabrielle

Gabrielle is from Powell, Tennessee, USA

The following child abuse story from Gabrielle depicts physical abuse and emotional abuse.

The child abuse effects on Gabrielle: other than bruising, Gabrielle did not share the effects the child abuse had on her.

When I was three years old, I was taken from my parents by the state. They did not prove that the accusations were untrue until I was five years old. By then, I had been living with my dad's brother and his wife for two years, and had no memories of my parents.

My aunt always said things to me like "You will never amount to anything." "The only thing you'll ever be able to do is lie down and pop out kids while being a good little housewife."

Grades never mattered. As long as I kept her house clean and her meals cooked.

By the time I was ten years old she started smacking me in my face and leaving bruises. One time I remember, I didn't have the dishes done by the time she got home. She got so mad she grabbed me by the hair and smashed my head into the counter. Then she shoved my face into the soapy dishwater. I tried to run that day. That was the biggest mistake I made. She caught up with me at the door while I was fumbling to unlock it. She dragged me by my hair into the hallway and threw me into the washer and dryer. My uncle never knew about how she treated me. He was a truck driver so he was always gone.

This went on my entire life, until I was seventeen years old. I went to a cousin's house to spend the week with her. When that week was up, I realized that god had given me a way out. I got my parents' number from the operator, called them and asked them to come get me. They did. That is when I moved to Tennessee. Thank god that in Michigan, seventeen is an adult and you can move out, or I would have had to go through hell for another year.