Raped 12 Year Old Suing Buffalo YMCA: Is That Enough?
Another defenseless child was raped last July and no one believed her when she first reported it. The Buffalo, N.Y. YMCA now finds itself in the position of being sued by the child and her mother for negligence. Is this really enough and will it erase the memory of what happened to this 12 year old? Of course not, but why was she not believed in the first place?
I was only 5 years old when I was raped and no one believed me either. Granted a 5y ear old cannot really convey what happened to them but shouldn’t this 12 year old special needs child have been listened to the first time? She was raped twice at the William Emslie Y's Summer Camp and I was raped in the home of a family member. Both of us thought we were in a safe place and tried to convey to an adult what happened. Yet each one of us was scoffed at and denied our rights.
I can still remember the feel of the perpetrator’s cold chafed hands and the echoes of dark laughter coming from his mouth. To this day I still endure the mental pain and my inner tears are forever engraved on my skin.
I was only a mere toddler but this young girl from Buffalo has now given birth to a child conceived by the rape and must live with this for the rest of her life. The YMCA chose to believe their staff and it took the pregnancy for them to stand up and take notice. What if the child had not become pregnant and her voice had never been heard?
There should never be any question or argument about someone that says they have endured violence no matter what age they are. Listening is the very least you can do because the abused will never forget the volume of pain inside or out. I know I haven’t.
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