Dear Survivor, Stephanie wants you to know you are not alone. Here's what she has to say:
My name is Stephanie C. and I am a survivor of sexual abuse. It started when I was sixteen and went on for a year, which is when I found the courage to leave. Unfortunately I didn't have many places to choose from when deciding where to move so I ended up moving into a physically and emotionally abusive home. I grew more and more depressed and knew I wasn't going to live much longer in this situation because I had no one to turn to about the sexual abuse or the physical abuse, I felt so alone. That's when I turned to resources and support from the internet. I found great support from many people who have been through similar situations and I found heroes like Mackenzie Phillips, Angela Shelton, and Mariska Hargitay throughout my journey who inspired me to fight for my safety. I knew that I had to get out of the home that I was in but I didn't have anywhere else to go other than back to my perpetrator, so I went back. I had raised enough suspicion to have social services come and make check-ins and I had threatened my abuser that if it happened again I would tell the social worker. I had scared him enough that he never tried it again and I am eighteen now.
Through the help of my online support and my heroes, my voice is becoming stronger and I am on a beautiful healing journey. When I first heard Mackenzie's story I was so inspired by her courage to speak out that I decided to do the same in hopes that I can inspire others to seek help as well. Mackenzie made me realize that I CAN make a difference and help so many others if I take a stand to fight against the horrible crime of sexual abuse, so that is exactly what I am going to do. I am currently in University working on my masters in psychology and I have dreams of opening up my own non-profit for survivors. Mackenzie Phillips, Angela Shelton, and Mariska Hargitay have all inspired me and changed my life, they gave me my life back and I am finally living again. I am going to use my new found life to help as many survivors as I possibly can. I am a big dreamer and I will never give up.
Stay tuned for more survivor stories... gotta love that ripple effect!
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