Me? No. Someone I know? Yes. Two of my family members come to mind.

But neither of them told me about it until years later, so I don't know what they went through at the time.

Friend was molested by a taxi driver.(guy by the way)

Didn't do anything about it.

My older brother molested me when were little kids. That, or I'm making it up. I'm not sure because my memory of my childhood days is vague.

I am not logging out because this is one that needs faces. Yes I have been sexually asaulted. First time I was 7 and it was a friend of my oldest brother. And he continued to do so for quite a while.

Then my oldest brother started to as well. Both lasted till I was 9.

Then when I was 24 a pastor in training sexually asaulted me and I became pregnant by him. I now have a beautiful son from that.

I overcame the hurt that was done to me by the first 2 men by realizing that I wouldn't be who I was if it wasn't for that. I also am still, after 13 years, daily overcoming the pain that occured from the last one. The scars are there but fading with the time that has passed.

@alterEGGO@xanga - Thanks... your vehemence is very appreciated, actually.

@Christina - I'm doing well. I often don't think about certain things (like this "experience") but for some reason it was on my mind today and I was surprised to see the "Scandalish" question. I wonder how long it takes to feel "resolved" over these things? (This happened to me late 2007.) Either way, I find that the best "revenge" or attempt at resolution is... becoming a success. Which I am trying to do... and this helps tremendously. :)

I've learned to be pretty open about my experience rather than keeping it bottled up inside me, so I'm not going to log out.

I was molested by my father in the shower when I was little. I also know someone who was sexually assaulted.

I'll never forget it. I used to visit my dad every other weekend and on Tuesday. I was old enough to clean myself, and had done so for years. For some odd reason, dad walked in. I always pulled the shower curtain shut when I was taking a bath, so he stood on the edge of the tub, and peeked his head over the curtain rod. I was freaked out by it, but didn't think anything of it, until he asked me if I needed any help. I said that I was fine, but he pushed the curtain back anyway. I remember standing up, and getting a wash cloth, but my dad apparently didn't need one. He used his hands and fingers to clean me, and it hurt. It was a Saturday night. My mom always took me to church on Sundays, so when she picked me up to take me to mass, I said, "Do you remember how you told me to tell you if someone touched me?" She didn't let me go back to his house when mass was over. After that, I was put through counseling, interviewed by the police, as well as Children and Youth. They said my story never changed, and there was no doubt in their mind that I was telling the truth.

When dad went to court, nothing happened. He didn't go to jail, he didn't even get a little mark on his record saying he had sexually assaulted someone. It was a sad day for my mom, my counselor, and everyone that knew about what had happened that Saturday. Especially me. The worst thing, though, was that the court ordered I still had to go visit him over night.

How did I deal with it? At that age, I would harm myself. I didn't think of it like that, though. I would get stressed, and pull my hair out. Literally. I had a bald spot on the top of my head for months. My doctor said it was alopecia areata, but I knew damn well it wasn't. I kept my mouth shut, though. Another thing I did was pull my fingernails and toenails off. I was always and still am a nervous picker. I pick the skin around my nails as well as the nail itself when I am nervous, anxious, or stressed. After the incident with my dad, it only got worse. I remember having two whole pinky nails missing at one time. I told my parents I got them slammed in a door.

Now, I don't harm myself. Self harm is a big turn off. Instead, I write about it. Which is why this comment is so long. :P It helps me alot, actually.

I know several people who have been sexually assaulted. Only one of them has ever tried to do anything about it, and her molester was a family member. Even that was a good eight years after it happened. That takes a lot of courage to stand up against.

It makes me truly sad that there are all of these invisible faces who don't speak up. It happens more often than anyone realizes.

Yeah, I was sexually assaulted when I was 17, by my step-uncle. Sent his ass to prison.

I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't have a lot of trouble getting over it. It wasn't my fault, there's nothing I could have done to prevent it, the end.

@alterEGGO@xanga - I agree that this needs faces! 

There are far too many people that know the "statistics" about rape and sexual assault, but have NO CLUE if someone in their close circle of friends/family has been assaulted or raped.  It's one of those "It won't happen to me/those I love" issues.

I was assaulted when I was a 18...the guy was 21.  For the longest time, I convinced myself it wasn't anything, and I didn't say a WORD about it.  I pushed down as much information as I could about the guy & the incident, and now I regret that.  It wouldn't surprise me if he's been pulling that shit on women ever since...so now MY inaction has likely allowed this guy to to treat women this way for years.

A great number of my friends have been assaulted or raped.  It's astounding to find just how many people you know that are victims of assault once someone will talk about it.  Absolutely astounding.

@XangaChick - (This is Christina from that first comment...I'm not sure why I was signed out before...) Yes, it seems like the best revenge against someone who commits such an atrocity is to move on with your life - not to let it affect you, to continue to be who you were before it happened...just let it be a minor bump in the road. Please, continue to be a success, as I'm sure you are - it gives you (and other victims) more confidence and tells people who commit these crimes that they never held nor do they currently hold power over you, seeing as how that's what rape is typically about... I'm very glad to know that you are doing well; something like this has the ability to affect people for the rest of their lives, but I am glad to see that you are not one of them... I only hope that those who have been affected in such a way find a way to get better and past their "experience" (as you put it). Don't worry, if you are "trying" to be a success, as you say, you're already ten steps further than you think you are.

@alterEGGO@xanga - What happened to the preacher-in-training?

I know people, yeah.

Not to advocate violence, but given the opportunity, I'd make damn sure an attacker couldn't do much of anything ever again.