THE thought of thousands of Jamaican children living the nightmare of sexual abuse has motivated three adults, scarred by this horrific act, to share their stories with the hope that the victims can be rescued.
The three — a man and two women — decided to speak after reading an April 1 Sunday Observer article in which Dr Sandra Knight painted a gruesome picture of abuse of Jamaican children, including four-year-old girls she has treated for gonorrhoea, a nine-year-old boy who was raped by his mother's pastor, and an 18-month-old boy who died after being buggered by an uncle.
While the physical pain will eventually go away, the shame and trauma of being sexually abused often cling to the abused throughout childhood and even adulthood.
Thirty-two-year-old Carlington (surname withheld) is one such Jamaican, whose voice cracked as he recounted the painful memories of his abuse 20 years ago.
"I am speaking to you and I am getting emotional because I always felt as if I was a bad child, because he (the perpetrator) was the one who was always saying he loved me; and so years later when I heard someone say they love me, I would get upset because of what I associated love with," Carlington told the Jamaica Observer last week.
Carlington's troubles began almost at birth when his 14-year-old mother found it difficult to care for an unwanted baby. With no father around, Carlington ended up on the streets at age seven
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sad indeed
