I was talking to a friend the other day about the impact of sexual abuse on the lives of young girls. And, in particular, those who got caught up in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking schemes. And about the fact that sexual exploitation went virtually unmentioned for decades until social media gave birth to the #MeToo movement. […]
Did you know that 1 in 5 women is a target of sexual assault while in college? It is no understatement that sexual assault continues to be a very serious issue at every single college and university campus in Ontario, Canada. One woman in five experiences sexual assault while attending a post-secondary institution. A 2015 […]
In early September 2019, I heard Mo Rocca interview TV and Hollywood Star Angie Dickinson on CBS Sunday Morning. At the end of the conversation, he asked what she thought of the #MeToo movement. Her response caught me off guard. In a chilly tone of voice, she said, “I hate it. It’s all out of […]
The girls – now women – who have come forth to tell their story of survival are now living from a sense of purpose. They are changing their life stories. Taking the bad things that happened in their young lives and reinterpreting, rewriting their personal narratives in a more positive frame. In doing so, they […]
It takes a long time to start the healing process. I will never heal. There are pieces from me that can never be put back together. ~ Virginia Roberts Giuffre, victim of Jeffrey Epstein from age 16 I understand that a victim of sexual abuse would feel this way. Even after years of traditional […]
Sexual abuse of girls and boys results in long-term psychological trauma. And I can tell you that, unless treated, the emotional scars can last a lifetime. My clients include women who in their child or teen years were sexually molested or initiated into sex games by their father, an older sibling or relative, neighbor or […]
My friend “Emily” – a friend from university days – was visiting this past weekend. It was way past midnight. We had been talking for hours. And we were on our second or third glass of wine. She asked what I was up to these days. When I mentioned that I was writing this series […]
“I will never understand why it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist.” ~ Anonymous I f we have any major unresolved emotional traumas . . . any physical, emotional or sexual abuse in our past. Anything we would never want to share with anyone (even a therapist) . . . […]
My observations about trauma and abuse are not pure projection on my part. They are not just thoughts inspired by my clients’ stories. I experienced numerous traumas in my younger years . . . from alcohol-infused childhood violence, to being threatened at knife point (by my father-in-law, no less; now there’s another story . . […]
T his morning, I read in my local paper about a common type of trafficker called a “Romeo pimp.” This is the trafficker who develops a romantic relationship with his victim. Who knew there was such a term? We don’t know whether Jeffrey Epstein developed a romantic relationship with his victims, or whether the sociopath […]
The whole seedy Jeffrey Epstein sexual abuse scandal gives rise to so many questions. The ones that hold the most fascination for me are those concerning power and authority. Does childhood train us to like being admired by men? To want to please people in authority? To respect those who have power over us? Why […]
Mia Doucet