“I was easy prey…” click on highlighted website article by Ginger Kadlec… Quote from the article follows…
“He was close to my mother, he visited our family home,” Susan Crocombe recalls in an interview with Steve Harris of BBC Radio Solent’s Breakfast in Dorset 103.8 fm. “If mum was having a bad day, she would be in bed… so he had complete access to me. I actually loved him. I would have done anything for him.”
“He” was a member of Susan’s extended family who sexually abused her for years. She recalls, “Things he did became quite serious 18 months leading up to my 13th birthday,” at which point her molester began feeding his addiction by sharing her with other adults, including taking photographs of and filming her.
“I associated presents with rewards for being good. I was easy prey.”~Susan Crocombe
In this BBC Radio Solent interview, Susan reflects on the sexual abuse she endured as a child and the impact the abuse had on her as a teenager and adult. She discusses issues like being groomed and says, “Who doesn’t like to feel special to get gifts, presents, be validated? For me, it was very subtle. I was very young, so I didn’t know what was happening was wrong… I associated presents with rewards for being good. I was easy prey.”
#####
In my view, the above reference is absolutely the worst case scenario and tragedy connected with domestic violence and child abuse! I lived in a highly toxic home while growing up in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. The vivid memories of being scared and living with domestic violence still haunts me at times. My home was affected by the hard combat trauma my father experienced during all of WWII and deployment during the Korean War. We did not have any kind of domestic violence awareness during the post WWII era…let alone a month like October designated to help children and families become more aware of its seriousness, long term impact on mental health, and ways to get help. We siblings, as military kids, felt scared and alone most of the time. We were afraid to go home when Dad was home for fear of the next beating that could come our way or the threatening emotional outbursts that often came out of nowhere as Dad struggled with his own demons. Mother was affected severely as a wartime military spouse and from her own traumatic childhood during the “depression era.” Our entire family was emotionally damaged and we thought it was just normal and mostly our fault as kids for not being good. What happened in our home stayed at home. From all appearances our family behaved as normal adults and kids outside of the home and in school. We would not dare speak of being scared to go home… Dad was a WWII US Navy hero by day and an angry and dangerous man by night.
Thousands of families were toxic like ours during this post WWII era, but we didn’t know it until later in life when the topic of combat related PTSD was finally revealed and understood more clearly. But the stigma of mental health challenges and the intergenerational effects of post trauma symptoms referred to as secondary PTSD or complex PTSD kept countless children and families from seeking help. The stigma of PTSD remains a big challenge to this day!
I lived with the emotional baggage of child abuse and domestic violence until later in life while doing research on our post WWII family’s toxic culture and the how war affects the mental health of soldiers and sailors long after the war ends. Writing my book, Reconciliation: A Son’s Story, was finally the beginning of my own journey of healing at age 64, and I am not alone… If it had not been for the gift of awareness, I would still be living with emotional pain. It is a joy to look forward to each day now with peace of mind. The anger, depression, and anxiety tearing away at my heart and soul is now gone, but is a work in progress to keep the pain of past trauma at a safe distance. I am very blessed and thankful for the work of Ginger Kadlec and many others in the mental health community for building awareness through social media. I am also grateful for the support of my family and friends who help keep me grounded with positive energy each and every day…
Steve Sparks, Author, Reconciliation: A Son’s Story and My Journey of Healing in Life After Trauma, Part 1… Click the highlighted text for my author page…
