Home
Sitemap
My Blog
Child Abuse Stories
My Story
Child Abuse News
Write a Commentary
The Lighter Side
Awakening
OpenSpace
Statistics
C/A History
Emotional Abuse
      Types of E.A.
      Signs of E.A.
       Effects of E.A.
         - Bullying
      Stats for E.A.
Physical Abuse
     Signs of P.A.
      Abuse/Dis'pln
      Effects of P.A.
     Stats for P.A.
Child Neglect
     Signs of C.N.
      Effects of C.N.
     Stats for C.N.
      Poverty & C.N.
Sexual Abuse
      Definition S.A.
     Signs of S.A.
      Effects of S.A.
     Stats of S.A.
Sexual Abuse Victims
   Male Victims
     Female Victims
     V w/ Disability
  Disclosures
Sex Offenders
  Male S.O.
    Female S.O.
  Child S.O.
   Youth S.O.
   Incest S.O.
     Internet S.O.
Child Abuse Law
      Age-Majority
     Duty-Report
Intervention
Prevention
Stories of Healing
Exch w/ an Abuser
Visitor Comments
Letters from Readers
Link to this Site
Resources
FREE E-zine
Ask Darlene
Dating Violence
Privacy Policy
Site Search
[?] Subscribe To This Site

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines

Child Abuse Story From Sarah2

by Sarah
(Location Withheld)




Invisible to the World: 
My mom died when I was eight years old, so me and my sister had to move with my aunt and uncle. They lived on a farm and at first everything was normal. I enjoyed being around animals, riding horses and even starting a new school. But then things started turning around. My uncle was not a nice guy, and my aunt was just as bad. Being eight years old at the time I felt like everything that happened to me was my fault. From getting whipped with a horse whip, to being almost dead in a lake. He always picked on me, like I was the target. He wouldn't ever really go after my sister, and whenever he did, I would jump in the way and take it for her.

They use to tell me I was a horrible kid, and that my mom died because she couldn't stand me being her kid. I honestly did nothing wrong. They had 3 kids of their own who use to get it before I moved there, but they got lucky once I was there, they got it easy.

I would be terrified to come home from school because I knew something bad was going to happen. I had chores to do at the farm like feeding the horses, watering them, and helping with the other animals as well.

The first time anything ever happened to me was when I didn't hear him calling my name and when I finally heard I ran to him and he accused me of avoiding him and he picked up a hammer and started hitting me with it. There were so many different things that happened. I always had bruises. One of the main ones was we were riding in this tractor and he elbowed me back and I hit my head through the back window and the glass broke. My head was bleeding and he took me out of the truck and yelled at me to make sure I didn't get blood on his seat. When we got back to the house he told me to go wash my head in the sink. While I was doing that, he came in and started yelling at me telling me that everything was my fault and he started kicking me in my stomach, and my side telling me I was worthless.

One time he told me and my sister we couldn't talk to each other, and she was talking to me and he got mad and told me to follow him. He threw me into this truck and I passed out and woke up in the hospital.

Many times he would beat me with a whip or a stick till I couldn't even walk. I have scars all over my body. I have nightmares at night. My aunt would make me sleep in the dark cold basement on nothing but a mattress, no blanket or pillow. She would feed me old bread with cheese on it, and water if I was lucky. If I had to be home alone or her kids didn't feel like watching me they would hook a chain to me and tie me up, so I wouldn't leave. Life sucked. School was my only escape.



As a few years past, things just seemed to get worse. One time, I couldn't remember the name of a certain belt that was on a machine and my uncle started towards me. I started to run from him and he caught me and started hitting me, and he picked me up and threw me into a lake and held me underwater. Finally, I remember lying on some rocks by the water.

There was a time when he got really mad because I wasn't hungry and I wouldn't eat. He told me no one cared about me anyways and he would just set me on fire. He told me to go find some matches so I did, and he got a bunch of sticks together and told me to lay in them. At first I wouldn't move. I started crying. I was terrified. He then lit the stick on fire and I kept backing away. It caught my pants on fire and I started rolling. He finally poured water on me and told me to get the hell out of his sight. I always figured I was just a bad kid, but now that I'm older I realized I didn't do anything.

So many things happened to me the 3 years I lived there. The only reason I got out of that place is because I spoke up to the adults at my school, and to be honest, it was the smartest thing I have ever done in my life. So if you are a victim and are reading this, please speak up. They won't let you go home unless you're safe.

A Video Reading by Darlene BarriereNote from Darlene: The volume of contributor submissions has now made it impossible for me to comment personally (especially in great detail) on each and every contribution. If I haven't left you a comment or one that is in-depth, please do not take my lack of a personal response as a slight, or as a statement that your story is somehow unworthy of my time. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, could be further from the truth. If there was a way for me to respond to all of you at length, I would.

Email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses AND website/blog URLs in visitor comments are STRICTLY prohibited, and could result in being banned from making further comments on this site.

Comments for
Child Abuse Story From Sarah2

Click here to add your own comments

Mar 15, 2009
A deranged uncle...
by: Darlene Barriere - Webmaster

Sarah, allow me to pass along my condolences over the loss of your mother.

I'm very glad you told someone at school and that they didn't let you go home to such an unsafe, horrific environment. It does seem as though you were targeted by your aunt and uncle. If you haven't already read my article on this site about that subject, you might find it interesting. You'll find it at Why Parents Target a Specific Child for Abuse. And while it is titled about parents, much of it can apply to caregivers as well.

But regardless of the reasons this man (and I use the term loosely; he was no man, in my view) was viciously cruel to you, (and there are no good reasons) there was something mentally wrong with him—and your aunt, for allowing this brutal mistreatment to go on in the first place. Deranged is the word that comes to mind. He physically tried to kill you, he tried to convince you that you were to blame for your mother's death in an effort to emotionally destroy you, he took away any semblance of happiness you might have. And he taught his own children to do the same. He deserves to be in prison for what he did, and so does your aunt.

I do hope you are now in some form of therapy in order to help you deal with all the emotional turmoil. You are so worth that kind of help, Sarah. You are NOT worthless. You are NOT unlovable. You are NOT responsible for any of what happened to you. The blame lies solely on his shoulders. You ARE lovable. You ARE worthy of love and dignity and respect. You did NOT deserve to be mistreated. You deserved love and nurturing. Love and nurture yourself enough to get the help you need, Sarah.

Thank you for sharing your story with my visitors and me.

A Video Reading by Darlene Barriere
Darlene Barriere
Webmaster: www.child-abuse-effects.com
Violence & Abuse Prevention Educator
Author: On My Own Terms, A Memoir

Mar 16, 2009
to Sarah
by: Exanimis

You said that he had threatened to set you on fire and then told you to go get matches. I don't think that most people would understand that you went to get them and brought them to him, but I do. When you live in constant fear, sometimes it would have been easier to have died. Those people took everything they could away from you, that's what abusers do. I hope that you find peace in your life.

Click here to add your own comments