Sexual victimization essay

The reason is because most of these cases are never reported or even talked about. There are many reasons that could make a victim not speak up about an ordeal they went through. Some of them are threatened by the perpetrators, some are just too embarrassed to speak up because society has made it seem like it was the victim’s fault and others just do not know who to talk to. Most people have gone through some sort of sexual harassment, victimization or abuse at some point in their lives. There are a myriad of sexual predators out there roaming free and some are even living with us in our homes. She was a joy to behold and a pride to her mother, my father’s sister.

Things seemed to be normal and okay during this time and then the bubbly personality of Sandy started fading away. It was such a slow transition that it was not easy to realize. She started being shy, quiet and closed off when she turned fourteen and people thought that she was just hitting adolescence and wanted to act mature. Being funny and goofy was seen as a child-like character. It was always the superficial greeting and routine check-up. Nothing in-depth that would connect us on a deeper level. Christmas last year, I asked Sandy if she wanted to go grab something to eat at the local deli one afternoon and she weakly obliged. It was awkward sitting in the car with her, saying nothing to each other.

There was so much tension in the air and the anxiety was palpable. We were best friends and then suddenly, she could not be seen. She asked me if I remembered Zach and I said yes. Zach was Sandy’s mother’ boyfriend and they had lived together for a little over five years by then and was just like a father to Sandy. He had, however, broken up with Sandy’s mother when Sandy went off to college. As I was wondering how Zach was involved in this story, Sandy dropped a bombshell. The inappropriate touching soon escalated to rape. Zach would come into her room, do it and then leave and when her mother arrived, he would act like nothing was wrong.

This continued for three years and the more he did it, the more Sandy felt helpless. She once told her mother that she did not like Zach but her mother told her not to disrespect her boyfriend like that. Zach had been the only man that had dated Sandy’s mother for that long. She told me she harbored so much hate for this man and just wanted to find him and torture him to death. I told her not to worry about Zach anymore because right after he broke up with Sandy’s mother he was accused of theft by his trucking company and as he was in jail being investigated, his truck was searched and materials of child pornography were found in his possession.