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Are You Going To Let Them Get Away With It?
16-year-old “Annie”
Have you ever known that something was happening right there and then, that was hurting you then and would hurt you for the rest of your life, and there wasn’t anything you could do about it? You couldn’t say no or scream; you couldn’t even move; it was like you were in a bad dream; and you just couldn’t see to wake up no matter how hard you wanted to. A bad dream that would haunt you for the rest of your life and there would be no way of escaping it, no way of forgetting about it or even putting it in the past. You would just have to live with it not knowing if you have done the right thing or not.
Has it ever hurt so bad that you thought you couldn’t hurt anymore? Have you ever thought about something so much that you cry yourself to sleep at night? Have you ever closed your eyes and relived a moment as if it happened yesterday, and when you do that, you get so scared that you just want to die? Well I have.
Rape is no joke. Wishing it didn’t happen to you is something that you will have to live with for the rest of your life. It is something you will NEVER forget about nor forgive. When someone you thought you could trust – one of your own family members – takes something from you that will break your heart in a million pieces, something that will take more than a lifetime to put back together even though you keep telling yourself it didn’t happen. That someone you thought loved you would take advantage of you in a way like no other.
If anyone has been through what I have, it doesn’t matter how old you are, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, or even what gender you are, it never gives anyone the right to hurt you like that. You need to tell someone and do something about it before it happens to someone else. And just remember – IT ISN’T YOUR FAULT. It was never your fault. And it will NEVER be your fault. It’s no one’s fault but the person stupid enough to do this to you. No one should get away with this, not even if they say that they love you, and that they will never hurt you again – even if you love them with everything you have.
The only mistake you could ever make is not telling someone about it. You could be saving your own life by making one call and doing something about it.
I hope this has made some people out there think. I have been through it, and I know how much it hurts. You might be scared to go to the hospital or to get a rape kit done or even to give a little blood, but this could save your life. You don’t know what kind of sexually transmitted infections this person may have. You don’t know if he has gotten you pregnant. It’s not as bad as you think it might be. So please do something about it. Protect yourself. Get tested. There is something called the Emergency Contraceptive Pill (ECP) also knows as the “morning after pill.” You take it within 72 hours from the time you were raped to prevent getting pregnant. And there are strong antibiotics that will fight against the disease. And also there are great counselors at the Women’s Resource Center who will help you through all of this, and they will be there for you whenever you need them.