The Psychology of Sexual Abuse
The lyrics tell a story of the ultimate betrayal, the loss of trust through sexual abuse. A warm smile, a gentle touch and an innocent hug activate emotions of safety and well-being.
"Music can change the world because it can change people."
- Bono, Musician, U2
If it happened to you or someone you know,
watch for specific symptoms such as:
withdrawal and mistrust of adults, suicidal thoughts, problems sleeping and secretiveness
or unusual aggressiveness, all of which can involve law enforcement.
Silence is not the answer. Emotional healing is possible with the help of a strong support system made up of a therapist, family members, other victims or friends who see the person not as a victim but as a human being who is hurting. This kind of support comes from people who listen and believe in a person’s truth. This has the power to create freedom from fear, relinquishment of guilt and self-blame and aides in the reestablishment of a positive self-image.
Trust can turn to fear in a heartbeat turning a persons whole world upside down when the trust changes because of unwanted affection. In many cases the betrayer is a trusted family member, neighbor or a date for the evening.
Some victims don’t see it coming but when it happens their entire emotional balance is rocked. Emotions such as self-hatred and condemnation create silence.
A fear of being accused of asking for it or lying about it outweighs the truth. The crime goes unreported and the emotional trauma goes untreated.
Without a voice the trauma becomes buried deep inside stirring emotions in ways that perpetuate a damaged self-image.
With personal trust broken, it remains an open wound which may drive the victim into the arms of another violator to repeat the act either in search of answers or to further verity their feelings of worthlessness, as a dark vision of the world emerges washing over everything.
Janie's got a gun...
Her whole world's come undone...
From lookin' straight at the sun...
What did her daddy do?
What did he put you through?
They say when Janie was arrested...
they found him underneath a train
But man he had it comin'
Now that Janie's got a gun
She ain't never gonna be the same.
Janies's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody's is on the run
Tell me now it's untrue
What did her daddy do?
He jacked a little bitty baby
The man has got to be insane
They say the spell that he was under
the lightning and the thunder knew
that someone had to stop the rain
Run away, run away from the pain...
What did her daddy do"
Its Janie's last I.O.U.
She had to take him down easy,
and put a bullet in his brain
She said cause nobody believes me.
The man was such a sleaze."
Run away, run away from the pain.
-Aerosmith
A life once lived freely now takes a new direction where thoughts of death are an unavoidable life sentence. The victim suffers the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from betrayal.
It’s like witnessing a murder in a war but now it’s in your heart and mind. Victims find triggers, which cue a replay of the event. A cue can be visual, audio, aromatic, anything reminding a victim of the trauma.
A victim may lash out against other men or against themselves by self-medicating which can lead to a horrible addiction or they may end the pain all together through suicide.
If not dealt with therapeutically or told to a
trusted nonjudgmental friend or family member each reoccurring memory gets bigger and more traumatic.
A voice in the mind screams in what
is called negative self-talk that the victim is worthless.