I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and I’m no longer ashamed of it. Because I know that it has nothing to do with who I am.

I’m not wrong, unworthy, dumb, or anything else because I have been abused. It says nothing about me and everything about my abuser.

My silence is nothing that comforts others. My silence is nothing I do to protect myself from shame or pain. My silence only protects my abuser. Therefore I refuse to stay silent. 

We are the many who kept the secret that was never ours to keep. In the end, why should I be afraid? All I’m doing is sticking up for my younger self. All I’m doing is owning my story instead of being owned by it.

We must make a change.