SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Victims of abuse who have persevered should tell their stories

Mar 31, 2017, 6:14 PM

abuse...

A Seattle sex worker says the city's approach to prostitution and other sex work is misguided. Mistress Matisse says she doesn't need help, and would like to have protection of the law. (AP)

(AP)

If you are a survivor of abuse, and you’ve made it through, I think you should tell your story. I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but you have to tell your story. You are called to broadcast them because there are people who need to hear them.

Related: Evil exists, even if we blur the lines

Kids who are being abused are incredibly resilient and are able to believe in a future; they are gifted in the sense that they can continue to have hope.

Is this a survival instinct? Or the soul?

If you’ve been through abuse, you owe it to the world to tell the tale of survival. Because something happens to the kids that are currently being abused — they become 16 or 17 years old; they are kids who stop getting treated like children. And they can easily head on the path toward drugs or sex work.

The abused adapt to this and say “this is my station;” a sort of settling mechanism. I know plenty of people who made the decision to survive by settling because the pain is predictable.

So, if you’ve risen through abuse, by talking about it, you are addressing the 13 year old who hears a woman or man now being treated as a person.

That is the gap that the abused child needs to jump. It’s the gap from childhood to becoming an adult, but not settling into that station of being a victim. You escape that victimization.

If you’ve been through it, you owe it to the world to communicate that you’ve been through it and have persevered.

As always, please listen to the full audio clip for complete context.

rain seafair aug. 1...

Tom Brock

Blue Angels cancel Saturday Seafair performance due to high winds

The U.S. Navy's precision flight team, the Blue Angels, had to cancel its Saturday performance at Seafair, due to high winds.

32 minutes ago

Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., speaks with voters following a Senate candidate stump event ahead of a...

Associated Press

Darline Graham promotes Trump’s agenda in her political debut ahead of special Senate primary

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Darline Graham made her political debut before hundreds of Republican voters in South Carolina on Saturday, saying that she never envisioned a life in politics for herself until after the death of her brother Lindsey Graham, and now wants to work hard to promote the state and President Donald Trump’s […]

2 hours ago

Jay Clayton, left, listens during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the pres...

Associated Press

Trump’s housing regulator Bill Pulte says he’ll hand over intel reins to Jay Clayton on Monday

WASHINGTON (AP) — The two-month tenure of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence will officially come to an end on Monday when the housing regulator officially hands the reins to Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s pick for the job. Pulte said in a social media post on Saturday that he had spoken about […]

3 hours ago

A dog catches a wave during the World Dog Surfing Championships, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Pacific...

Associated Press

Top dogs ride waves at annual World Dog Surfing Championships

PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) — Top dogs were riding waves Saturday at the annual World Dog Surfing Championships as hundreds of spectators cheered — and barked — from the Northern California beach. From small spaniels to large labs, the canines were judged on factors including how long they could stay on their board, the size of […]

3 hours ago

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide wildfire emergency. (Photo: WA. Dept. of Natu...

Tom Brock

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declares statewide wildfire emergency

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency Saturday, which includes a prohibition on most outdoor and agricultural burning.

3 hours ago

The I-90 floating bridge across Lake Washington. (Photo: Getty Images)...

Tom Brock

Search for a missing man in Lake Washington called off after extensive water and air sweeps

The Coast Guard and the Mercer Island Police Marine Patrol called off a search for a man who apparently fell off a boat on Lake Washington.

4 hours ago

Victims of abuse who have persevered should tell their stories