“Things Teenage Girls Always Wanted to Know About Gynecology”
Episode 7: Sexual Abuse
Bringing awareness to the sexual abuse of teens can be a sensitive and tough subject, and there are so many women in this world who have sacrificed their privacy to bring eyes and ears to the subject. Telling their stories can hopefully decrease the abuse of teen women, and, by sharing their experiences, survivors of sexual abuse shed light on how to protect yourself and possibly prevent these events from taking place. A brave young woman named Alex, my cousin, has given permission for me to share the story of her sexual abuse with you today. By showing you what happened to her, she hopes to teach young girls her own age how a fun party can turn into one of the worst nights of your life.
About a year ago, my cousin went through a massive party phase and wasn’t always making smart decisions. My family and I worried about her every weekend she went out, especially since is younger than me and was only 15 at the time. One weekend, she made decisions that clouded her state of mind, and the events that took place affected her forever. At this party, she was hanging out with kids she normally was never around, with boys she didn’t trust, and with no girlfriends by her side. This particular night, she took some drugs. Not only was she vulnerable enough without having people around her who she trusted to look out for her, but with a Xanax and half a bottle of vodka in her system, she was at this party in an extremely compromised state.
Her memories of this night are blurry, but there are certain things she knows happened. She was sexually abused. Her clearest memory was of someone pulling a “friend” off her naked body in a closed bedroom. She remembers the fear and worry she felt when consciousness flooded back and she was underneath the monster she never agreed to join in sexual actions with, a guy she thought was harmless. Instead of being harmless, the guy she had a math class with abused her when she couldn’t say no and when he could clearly see she couldn’t say no because she was blacked out and trapped inside herself.
These kinds of stories aren’t told in any way to blame young girls for their decisions. Rather, they are told to teach young girls to be aware that predators are out there. Something that young girls don’t always know is that those who would take advantage of them can be anywhere and can look like anyone. Predators such as the one I told you about are on the lookout for helpless girls, like my cousin, who don’t seem to be in the best state of mind. As a young teenage girl, you must be aware of the sick people who could possibly prey on you. It is never okay for someone to behave in this way, but it is important to know that people do take advantage of others. That is why it is so important for girls like my cousin to be brave and share. Events like this can be damaging to your body and mind, and being aware is your best safety blanket. It’s a sad reality all women live with every day.