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Child Abuse Quotes

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Child Abuse Quotes

“There are two types of memory frequently experienced by individuals who have had overwhelming trauma that has been suppressed psychologically or chemically. The first is general memory, experienced as an adult, in which there is a natural recall of early events. The other is the memory that is often associated with post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS). The person suddenly smells, sees and feels as though he or she is actually living the event that took place months or years earlier. Many soldiers who survived horrifying combat experiences have PTSS. This has frequently been discussed in terms of Vietnam veterans who suddenly mentally find themselves in the jungle, hiding from the enemy or assaulting people they see as a threat. The fact that they have not been in Vietnam for decades and that they are experiencing the flashbacks in shopping malls, at home or at work does not change what they are mentally reliving. But PTSS has existed for centuries and has affected men, women and children in the midst of all wars, horrifying natural disasters and other traumatic experiences. This includes physical and sexual abuse when growing up. the PTSS Cheryl was experiencing more and more frequently, in which she found herself seeing, feeling and re-experiencing events from her childhood and adolescence had become overwhelming. She knew she needed to get help.”

HorrorAbuseStressMental HealthMemoryTraumaChild AbusePtsdOverwhelmedSexual AbuseRapeSoldiersSexual AssaultTraumaticFlashbacksPtss
Book:Secret Weapons: How Two Sisters Were Brainwashed to Kill for Their Country
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“He loves me so he hurts me To try and make me good. It doesn't work. I'm just too bad And don't do what I should. My memory has so many different sections and, like all survivors, there are so many compartments with so many triggers. I'll remember a smell which reminds me of a man which reminds me of a place which reminds me of another man who I think was with a woman who had a certain smell — and I'm back to square one. This is the case for most survivors, I believe. When we try to put together our pasts, the triggers are many and varied, the memories are disjointed — and why wouldn't they be? We were children. Even someone with an idyllic childhood who is only trying to remember the lovely things which happened to them will scratch their head and wonder who gave them that doll and was it for Christmas or their third birthday? Did they have a party when they were four or five? When did they go on a plane for the first time? You see, even happy memories are hard to piece together — so imagine how hard it is to collate all of the trauma, to pull together all of the things I've been trying to push away for so many years.”

PainSufferingAbuseVictimMemoryTraumaSurvivorChild AbuseGroomingAbusedTraumatic
Book:Groomed
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“The individual psychological stages in the lives of most people are: 1. To be hurt as a small child without anyone recognizing the situation as such 2. To fail to react to the resulting suffering with anger 3. To show gratitude for what are supposed to be good intentions 4. To forget everything 5. To discharge the stored-up anger onto others in adulthood or to direct it against oneself”

SufferingAngerChild AbuseAdulthoodForgetting
Book:For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence
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“Rarely do page-turners written for middle-school kids also ignite excitement in adults. (A notable exception is the series of Harry Potter books.) Fewer still explore the secret sorrows of children's lives in the mid-1800s, whether enslaved or free. Running Out of Night, a debut novel from Californian Sharon Lovejoy, a veteran author-illustrator known nationally for her prizewinning nonfiction books on gardening and nature, gives you both.–OpEd News”

DiversityToleranceCivil WarBigotryHistorical FictionChild AbuseMiddle Grade
Book:Running Out of Night
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“Betrayal is too kind a word to describe a situation in which a father says he loves his daughter but claims he must teach her about the horrors of the world in order to make her a stronger person; a situation in which he watches or participates in rituals that make her feel like she is going to die. She experiences pain that is so intense that she cannot think; her head spins so fast she can't remember who she is or how she got there. All she knows is pain. All she feels is desperation. She tries to cry out for help, but soon learns that no one will listen. No matter how loud she cries, she can't stop or change what is happening. No matter what she does, the pain will not stop. Her father orders her to be tortured and tells her it is for her own good. He tells her that she needs the discipline, or that she has asked for it by her misbehavior. Betrayal is too simple a word to describe the overwhelming pain, the overwhelming loneliness and isolation this child experiences. As if the abuse during the rituals were not enough, this child experiences similar abuse at home on a daily basis. When she tries to talk about her pain, she is told that she must be crazy. "Nothing bad has happened to you;' her family tells her Each day she begins to feel more and more like she doesn't know what is real. She stops trusting her own feelings because no one else acknowledges them or hears her agony. Soon the pain becomes too great. She learns not to feel at all. This strong, lonely, desperate child learns to give up the senses that make all people feel alive. She begins to feel dead. She wishes she were dead. For her there is no way out. She soon learns there is no hope. As she grows older she gets stronger. She learns to do what she is told with the utmost compliance. She forgets everything she has ever wanted. The pain still lurks, but it's easier to pretend it's not there than to acknowledge the horrors she has buried in the deepest parts of her mind. Her relationships are overwhelmed by the power of her emotions. She reaches out for help, but never seems to find what she is looking for The pain gets worse. The loneliness sets in. When the feelings return, she is overcome with panic, pain, and desperation. She is convinced she is going to die. Yet, when she looks around her she sees nothing that should make her feel so bad. Deep inside she knows something is very, very wrong, but she doesn't remember anything. She thinks, "Maybe I am crazy.”

PainLonelinessHorrorAbuseManipulationChild AbuseDesperationChild Sexual AbuseRitual AbuseRituals
Book:Ritual Abuse: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How to Help
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“On the Monster in the Light: Mental illness is not an airborne virus. Monsters hide in the light. They hide in the light. Once you've identified the perp, now you've got to forgive them, right? So you go to phase two of this, which is two parts. That you sort of began to realize that monsters don't make themselves, and in order to be a monster you have to be a victim first. It's a good place to start. You know that there's nothing that releases you from your perp. Nothing better than a little sympathy for the devil. I had to feel sympathy, really understand how she [Mom] became that way.”

EmpathyForgivenessVictimMental IllnessChild Abuse
Author:Darrell Hammond
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“The fear of abandonment forced me to comply as a child, but I’m not forced to comply anymore. The key people in my life did reject me for telling the truth about my abuse, but I’m not alone. Even if the consequence for telling the truth is rejection from everyone I know, that’s not the same death threat that it was when I was a child. I’m a self-sufficient adult and abandonment no longer means the end of my life.”

Moving OnChild AbuseFear Of DeathAbandonmentChild Sexual AbuseSurvivorsSelf SufficiencyIncestDysfunctional FamilyChildhood AbuseDysfunctional FamiliesAbusive ParentsChild Sexual Abuse SurvivorChild Abuse SurvivorChildhood Sexual AbuseChild Abuse SurvivorsFear Of RejectionControlling ParentsAbuse DeniersTelling Your StoryAbandonment IssuesRevealing The TruthAbused ChildFear Of AbandonmentAbusive FamilyFamily AbuseAccepting The PastEscaping AbuseJust TellConsequences Of CrueltyTruth About AbuseDisclosing Abuse
Book:The Rescued Soul: The Writing Journey for the Healing of Incest and Family Betrayal
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“How often do we hear from the local diocesan people—the bishop, the communications director, the victim assistance coordinator, and others—that this abuse is not restricted to clergy, but, rather, it is a societal problem? It does occur outside in the public realm. When was the last time you heard of a sex offender not being held accountable for his actions once caught? The Church treated the abuse as a sin only and nothing more. Out in society, sex offenders are not moved to another community quietly. “But protest that priests are 'no worse' than other groups or than men in general is a dire indictment of the profession. It is surprising that this attitude is championed by the Church authorities. Although the extent of the problem will continue to be debated, sexual abuse by Catholic priests is a fact. The reason why priests, publicly dedicated to celibate service, abuse is a question that cries out for explanation. Sexual activity of any adult with a minor is a criminal offense. By virtue of the requirement of celibacy, sexual activity with anyone is proscribed for priests. These factors have been constant and well-known by all Church authorities” (Sipe 227−228).”

LawChurchSinCrimeCatholicVictimBlamePunishmentDenialRepentanceSurvivorChild AbuseSexual AbuseRapeExcusesSexual AssaultCelibacyCriminalParishPriestPedophileSociety ProblemBishopCoverupAuthoritiesClergy AbuseCelibateDiocese
Book:In the Shadow of the Cross: The True Account of My Childhood Sexual and Ritual Abuse at the Hands of a Roman Catholic Priest
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“The trauma recovery with a narcissistic mother (or father) is not an easy one. There may be bumps in the road. You may have grown up feeling rejected, ostracized, or condemned. You may have moments when your inner critic screamed awful words to you. Essentially, healing means you must release codependent relationships with toxic folks. It starts by identifying and understanding the shameful messages and beliefs that were transferred from the perpetrators to you, which are false. In effort to heal your mother wound (or father wound), it requires you to replace the negative, internalized messages to be transformed into positive self-talk that is kind, loving, nurturing, and respectful.”

RejectionSelf RespectChild AbuseNarcissistic AbuseTrauma RecoveryNarcissistic MotherOstracizedFamily ScapegoatsInner Critique
Book:Soul Rescue: How to Break Free From Narcissistic Abuse & Heal Trauma
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“One of the things I've noticed in Frank, and this is coming from that fear as a child that lingers, is that a kid on Tree Street, the only time Frank could eat comfortably was very late at night after John was asleep or passed out. And I've noticed now, having spent a lot of time with Frank, that he still consumes nearly half his calories in any twenty-four-hour period standing at the kitchen cupboard in the middle of the night, or if we're on the road, raiding hotel vending machines, because it's safe.”

ChildhoodFoodParentingNeglectChild AbuseRestrictive Eating
Book:Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead
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“People generally don’t suffer high rates of PTSD after natural disasters. Instead, people suffer from PTSD after moral atrocities. Soldiers who’ve endured the depraved world of combat experience their own symptoms. Trauma is an expulsive cataclysm of the soul. The Moral Injury, New York Times. Feb 17, 2015”

WarSoulMilitaryMoralityShameGuiltTraumaCombatMoralsChild AbuseWarfarePtsdSexual AbuseRapeSoldiersDepravedMoral ResponsibilityVeteransPost Traumatic Stress DisorderCataclysmCombat PtsdNatural DisastersSurvivor GuiltImmoral ActWar TraumaMoral AtrocitiesSexual Assailed
Author:David Brooks
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“In projecting onto others their own moral sense, therapists sometimes make terrible errors. Child physical abusers are automatically labeled “impulsive," despite extensive evidence that they are not necessarily impulsive but more often make thinking errors that justify the assaults. Sexual and physical offenders who profess to be remorseful after they are caught are automatically assumed to be sincere. After all, the therapist would feel terrible if he or she did such a thing. It makes perfect sense that the offender would regret abusing a child. People routinely listen to their own moral sense and assume that others share it. Thus, those who are malevolent attack others as being malevolent, as engaging in dirty tricks, as being “in it for the money,“ and those who are well meaning assume others are too, and keep arguing logically, keep producing more studies, keep expecting an academic debate, all the time assuming that the issue at hand is the truth of the matter. Confessions of a Whistle-Blower: Lessons Learned Author: Anna C. Salter. Ethics & Behavior, Volume 8, Issue 2 June 1998 p122”

TruthFaithPsychologyCrimeTrustConflictDebateDeceptionTherapyMoralsChild AbuseRemorseRapeProjectionAttackingSelf CenteredChild Sexual AbuseIdentificationAcademiaArgumentsAbusersPedophileAbuserPedophilesPaedophilesRapistFalse BeliefCognitive DistortionsMoral StandardsDirty TricksJustifying ViolenceSex OffenderMoral SenseChild Physical AbuseOveridentificationCognitive ErrorsMalevolent People
Author:Anna Salter
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“On train trips, Ernie always wanted the window seat. He knew the names of the trees we passed, and the clouds—nacreous, cumulus, nimbus. He was ever vigilant for animal life and appreciative of the tiny patches of humanity along the tracks that exposed the lives of the rail-side dwellers in such intimate detail. “I love sad houses,” he’d say, pointing to a chorus line of discoloured laundry waving at us, to an upturned self-propelled lawnmower, straggly gardens, leaky drainpipes, a rain-weathered pram that had been turned into a wheelbarrow. “The porch lights are on to keep the rats in their dens,” he’d said. To be a voyeur of decay at such close range was as much of an enthrallment as it was a validation of the scarcities in his own backyard. I knew exactly which days Ernie’s mum had had to choose between heating the house and putting food on the table. My mother had been there too. Before the Zipper had given her a leg up.”

ResilienceRedemptionChild AbuseLiterary FictionFriendshipsMentorshipThe Dark Web Saga
Book:Monday Rent Boy
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“I hear your soul cry. I know your shame. I understand your fears, tears, and trauma. Your story matters. Even if you tell it to one safe person, I encourage you to not keep it locked inside your heart. There is something empowering about having the courage to tell our story. To acknowledge, yes, it did happen. Yes, it really was that bad.”

WomenCourageEmpowermentShameTraumaChild AbuseSpeak UpVictim BlamingSexual AssaultsSoul Cry
Book:Soul Cry: Releasing & Healing the Wounds of Trauma
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“The introduction to horrors so young impressed on me just how helpless and vulnerable I was. Parents are supposed to empower their children to live without them but in my family, I wasn’t given permission to be my own person. I thought I needed them to live and then they abandoned me. It’s no wonder I felt so unempowered well into my adult years.”

PowerHorrorIndependenceDependentChild AbuseAbandonmentChild Sexual AbuseUnempowered
Author:Christina Enevoldsen
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“He recognized the same frenzy of wild abandon that each of those adults shared while beating their children, as if the important object lesson being taught justified their outsized zeal.”

Self DeterminationChild AbuseSexual AbuseWomen S EmpowermentNarcissistic ViolenceTree Of LivesElizabeth GardenElizabeth Garden SayingsSchizophrenic Family MemberFamily Narcissism
Book:TREE OF LIVES: My rocky path out of the Wildwoods
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“We have laws about human rights in place for a reason and even if those laws are so often not enforced BY the law, these laws teach us our rights as human beings. I was shocked when I first discovered them, but at the same time I found them empowering; especially the ones about emotional abuse and neglect. Always remember that we are healing from the damage and that before the damage can be overcome, it has to be acknowledged. Acceptance in the context of accepting what happened is not the same thing as acceptance of the person who did it. Accepting the way a person “is” does not apply when abuse or mistreatment is involved. There is a big difference in accepting someone’s “faults”, verses accepting abusive treatment.”

AcceptanceAbuseHuman RightsChild AbuseHealing InsightsMaltreatmentChild MaltreatmentHuman Rights LawChild Abuse Awareness
Author:Darlene Ouimet
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“I no longer look to my abusers with any expectation– of remorse, or apology or restitution or restoration or relationship. I’m at peace, accepting that they won’t and can’t help me out of the mess they created. But, I’m the best qualified for that job anyway and I’m happy with the job I’m doing.”

AcceptanceForgivenessRecoveryChild AbuseApologyRemorseChild Sexual AbuseAbuse SurvivorsForgiveness QuotesSurvivorsHealing The PastHealing JourneyHealing InsightsHealing From AbuseAbusive ParentsForgiveness And Letting GoRestitutionAt PeaceLetting Go Of AngerNo ContactBroken Relationships
Book:The Rescued Soul: The Writing Journey for the Healing of Incest and Family Betrayal
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“I know you're in a world of pain, but that pain will lessen. At the beginning you can't see that. You can only see your pain and you think it will never go away. But the nature of pain is that it changes— it changes like a sunset. At first, it's this intense red-orange in the sky, and then it starts getting softer and soften. The texture of pain changes as you work through it. And then one day, you wake up and realize that life isn't just about working through your incest; it's about living, too. - survivor of child sexual abuse”

SufferingHealingMetaphorTraumaRecoveryChild AbusePtsdEmotional PainChild Sexual AbuseIncestEmotional TurmoilOmplex Ptsd
Book:The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
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“When we are ready to let go of our old controls, we admit that we were powerless over the incest or abuse...We have often thought, 'If only I could have stopped it,' but we could not have stopped it. We let go of the 'if only' now and sit still with our stark powerlessness…In our surrender to powerlessness, we touch ourselves with the gift of truth.”

TruthHealingLetting GoAbuseSurvivorChild AbusePowerlessChild Sexual AbuseAbuse SurvivorsPowerlessnessIncestSurvivors Of AbuseAbuse RecoveryChild Sexual Abuse SurvivorIf OnlySurvivor Of Abuse
Book:Beyond Survival: A Writing Journey for Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse
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“As a society, we denounce "delinquents," "hoodlums" and "hooligans," but the truth is that we routinely fail troubled kids before they fail us. More children die each year in the United States from abuse and neglect than from cancer. For every child who dies, thousands are injured, raped or brutally abused. We shrug as millions of children undergo trauma in ways that harm them and unravel our social fabric--and then we blame the kids when things go wrong.”

ChildrenKidsChild Abuse
Book:Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope
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“Because we were treated neglectfully and abusively in our young years—when we most needed self-love to be mirrored—it was difficult to hold onto…We take up the challenge of learning to love ourselves, through our highs & our lows, when we are finding acceptance from others and when we are being closed out and rejected.”

HealingSelf LoveNeglectSelf AcceptanceLove YourselfChild AbuseEmotional AbuseAbuse SurvivorsSelf Love QuotesHealing InsightsHealing From AbuseRecovery From AbuseChild Abuse SurvivorsEmotional NeglectChild Neglect
Book:Beyond Survival: A Writing Journey for Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse
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“Janna knew - Rikki knew — and I knew, too — that becoming Dr Cameron West wouldn't make me feel a damn bit better about myself than I did about being Citizen West. Citizen West, Citizen Kane, Sugar Ray Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, Robinson miso, miso soup, black bean soup, black sticky soup, black sticky me. Yeah. Inside I was still a fetid and festering corpse covered in sticky blackness, still mired in putrid shame and scorching self-hatred. I could write an 86-page essay comparing the features of Borderline Personality Disorder with those of Dissociative Identity Disorder, but I barely knew what day it was, or even what month, never knew where the car was parked when Dusty would come out of the grocery store, couldn't look in the mirror for fear of what—or whom—I'd see. ~ Dr Cameron West describes living with DID whilst studying to be a psychologist.”

PsychologySelf EsteemAbuseShameMental HealthMemoryTraumaMental IllnessSurvivorChild AbuseDissociative Identity DisorderPsychologistDiagnosisDissociationChild Sexual AbuseMultiple Personality DisorderIncestPsychiatricMultiple PersonalitiesMental Health StigmaSplit PersonalityAbusive ParentsPedophilesDidSelf BlameSurvivor Of AbuseChild Range
Book:First Person Plural: My Life as a Multiple
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“Of all the horrid ramifications of child abuse, the self-beliefs formed by the child reap the greatest destruction. Abuse is the most penetrating and permanent communication possible, and it always conveys to the child one or more of several messages: ‘I caused it to happen. It’s my fault because I am bad. I don’t deserve any better.”

Self EsteemAbuseChild AbuseBadCore BeliefsSelf Blame
Book:Am I Bad? Recovering from Abuse
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