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 […]
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) . . . […]
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 […]
I’ve been wondering lately about our human tendency to readily give away our power. I’m thinking that, as with most everything, it has its roots in childhood. We’re born powerful, right? When we cry, good parents come running. They feed us, burp us, amuse us, change our diaper and take care of our every need. […]
Well, for one thing, adolescent girls are beautiful. And men have beautiful women on the brain. That was the finding of a 3-year brain science study in which heterosexual men were shown pictures of attractive men and women. Scientists measured their brains’ responses through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). What they found was startling . […]
Idon’t know whether we will ever grasp the inner workings of Jeffrey Epstein. Here was a man who felt he was rich enough to do whatever he wanted. Too big to fail. A cunning man whose conscience was clear because he didn’t have one. Perhaps that was his path to happiness. As the poet wrote: […]
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. […]
We’ve been reading a lot recently about high profile cases of hidden sexual violence against boys and girls in professional hockey, football, swimming and judo. Now the US government has just this week released the results of an in-depth phone survey of sexual violence. The report confirms that rape and sexual violence are far more common than previously […]