Childhood Trauma

My early years were fairly normal until the age of twelve.  My family frequently helped out people in need and many times people would move in with us until they could get back on their feet.  My family took in a young couple in their early thirties that had a 3 month old girl.  I do not know how long they lived with us but Bill and my father became close friends.  Bill molested me over a period of months.  Even after I finally told about what he was doing, he and his family were frequent visitors to my home.  My sister and my father were the only family members I spoke to about this.  I was told not to tell my mother due to her health issues.  My father blamed me and asked me what I did to provoke a 33 year old to molest me.  I began to act out and not wanting to spend much time at my home.  One day after I had run away again, my father tells me that he is thinking about putting me up for adoption.  He took me to a religious counselor where we were told I was too old to be adopted and so I was brought back home knowing that I wasn't wanted.  Anytime there was a family problem, it was my fault.  My sisters would tell me that I was an obscenity and didn't have the right to be alive.  My sisters are 7 and 9 years older than me.  While I lived in Connecticut, my friends were my support system.  Two of my friends were also victims of incest.  I would spend much of my summers visiting friends back in Connecticut but it wasn't the same.  After moving to Florida, it was difficult for me to make friends but eventually did so.  I kept my past to myself and one of my friend's family took me in on Thanksgivings.  My parents would go away for Thanksgiving.  While living in Connecticut, Thanksgiving was a family event with my aunt, my uncle and cousins.  I finally went to mental health counselor when I was 18 and only because a school counselor referred me.  I was  diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.   When I was 24, my father told me that he had only been joking about putting me up for adoption when I was a teenager.  I have been in and out of counseling throughout most of my early adulthood and still have difficulty at times dealing with stress.  My family and I don't spend a lot of time together.  I love them but we still can be quite hurtful to each other.  They don't know the person I've become and when I do go visit them, I don't really know how to act around them.

Childhood sexual abuse occurs everywhere. Israel is responding to increases in sexual and physical abuse of children and teens by setting up comprehensive care centers.  The first such center opened at Sheba Hospital in 2009 (Eglash, 2009).  This center is similar to the 600 such centers in the United States (Eglash, 2009).  At the center, which treats children from 3 to 18 years old, medical, legal and social services will be provided Eglesh, 2009).  In 2008, there was a 12% increase in investigated child abuse cases (Eglash, 2009). Poverty is another stressor that children in Israel may face.  Israel is one of 35 countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and 26.6% of children live in poverty.  This is the highest rate of children living in poverty of OECD members(Eglash, 2011).    Children in Israel can also suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to war.

Eglash, Ruth (2009, May 17). Israel's first center for child abuse victims to open this Tuesday. Jerusalem Post p 8
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Eglash, Ruth (2011, May 4). Child poverty here highest in OECD. Jerusalem Post, p 4.  Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?index=50&did=2341570671&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1311492859&clientId=70192