What is trauma? What is abuse? What are the ramifications that come with it? For starters, we need to understand that most, if not all, people who inflict abuse on children have been abused at some point or another. There are, of course, many forms of abuse, including emotional abuse and physical abuse, but the worse of it all is sexual abuse. These heinous acts are an epidemic, a plague on this world on the children with whom we’ve trusted our future.
Every year, approximately one billion children suffer from some form of abuse. They are deprived of a normal, safe childhood. Instead, they are subjected to the horrors of these traumatic events in their formative stages and mostly from trusted people. But before we delve further into this, we need to understand certain things.
First and foremost, we must understand that most of those who inflict trauma on children have experienced it themselves and never dealt with it.
Second, about 93 percent of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser. What’s more, less than 10 percent of individuals that sexually abuse children are strangers. What does this tell us? In simple terms, it tells us that most abused children may see their abuser every day, and there are many cases where they suffer in silence. Not only because they are afraid they might not be believed but also because usually, their abuser is in a position of power, i.e., a school teacher, an uncle, or maybe even a member of the immediate family.
Now that we’ve established what percentage of children are abused on their own, let’s talk about the ramifications of child abuse, the infinitely damaging ramifications. Not only does abuse in our initial years leave a long-life impression, but at times, it manifests in increasingly harmful ways. For example, an abused adult may inflict the same kind of abuse on a child they know. Another example is that an adult may never learn to deal with that trauma or any kind of trauma throughout their life.
Nevertheless, there is light at the end of this dark tunnel. Hope sits on top of the summit of this steep mountain, and it comes in the form of a book—a book by a survivor, someone who developed the courage to share their journey to recovery from a horrifying experience.
The Black Gown is an in-depth look at the ramification of child abuse and the road one must take to recover from it. This masterpiece does an excellent job of showing us what it takes to recuperate, and it can play a pivotal role for those that suffer in silence. This book tells those who have gone through the harrowing experience that we are not alone and that we matter. It teaches those that seek courage to look within. And, it tells those willing to help such individuals to approach them in a way that doesn’t make them feel like a freak or like they have to hide or be afraid.
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