“Some people don’t see because they often can’t bear to look. A child may need you to look, and truly see them.” – W.R.R.

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I am a survivor of child abuse that continued throughout my teen years until I turned nineteen. I can talk to others about how I manage to cope, how I was able to survive; but I am not an expert, just a survivor. Fellow survivors or those still being abused are welcome to contact me, but to get help, you should talk to the experts.

Here are a few good places to start, with general information for all survivors:

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StopItNow.org

RAINN.org

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The following survivor help project has excellent help for all survivors and their support system loved ones; it also has resources for male and LGBTQ survivors:

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Pandora’sProject (pandys.org)

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There are very few resources for male survivors, but there are some good ones out there. There are even fewer resources for gay, bisexual, and transmen (GBT) survivors. The following organizations have help for all male survivors, and their support system loved ones.

MaleSurvivor.org has a GBT forum, and they plan to add more resources for GBT survivors. 1in6.org also has excellent resources and they have begun to include information for GBT survivors as well. I highly recommend these two sites for men and boys:

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MaleSurvivor.org

1in6.org

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If you are a child or teen suffering abuse, or suspect you know a child or teen is being abused, please visit this site:

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ChildHelp.org

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There are many places to seek help, and only a few are listed here. For any child, teen, or adult being abused, the first step can be very simple as well as very hard: tell someone you trust. If you feel you have no one you can trust, tell a police officer, a school councilor, crisis center, or a doctor. Or, just click one of the links above and seek help. If no one knows, no one knows to help you.

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If you want to talk to me about this, you are welcome to leave a message for me below, in the comments on one of the essays, or you can find me on Twitter: @AsAshesScatter

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One of the most helpful things in the world for a sufferer/survivor of abuse is to know that they are not alone.