ANOTHER AWARD FOR INCEST, MURDER AND A MIRACLE

We are honored to have been chosen as a SEMI FINALIST in the KINDLE BOOK AWARDS. Our book has now received two awards and continues to help abuse victims and raise awareness internationally not only of abuse, but that victims do not have to be defined by the horrible things that have happened to them. Cheryl and Rob are excellent examples of that. 

ARTICLE REGARDING ABUSE RECEIVED VIA THIS BLOG

COMMENT from MORGAN ST. JAMES: The following article was received via the contact form on this blog. It presents the view of many abused children becoming abusers themselves and I am sure has some basis in case studies. 

It serves to explain why some abuse victims become abusers, and I do agree that the crime of abuse is still widely ignored. Unfortunately, to this day those who observe signs of abuse frequently fail to report anything. As an example, during Cheryl's hearing, at least 20 people acknowledged that they had reason to suspect abuse, but no one came forward to help her.

While becoming an abuser because of their own abuse may be true in some cases, it definitely is not in all cases. Cheryl Cuccio is a perfect example of the opposite. Her mission in life is to help victims and promote awareness and prevention of abuse. This is also true for 3 other abuse victims whose memoirs I helped write, and many victims who read these books write to Cheryl and Bella Capo with their stories. Most have also expressed the same desires--to help others and promote awareness and prevention. 

In my opinion, one should look at all sides of an issue before accepting information that applies to only one portion of it as a conclusion. I wish this article would have also addressed the caring about others and determination to help prevent abuse that frequently is found in abuse victims--in other words, present both sides of the coin instead of a singular view. 

One more thing must be added. Various media stories claim that Sean Pica knew of Cheryl's abuse and ongoing rape by her father when he agreed to kill him. That is not true according to Cheryl and Rob both. The only person who knew about it was Rob, and it took her a very long time to admit it to him.

This is the article for which a link was provided on the contact form:

 Child Mistreatment, Child Abuse

What is it?

Humiliations, spankings and beatings, slaps in the face, betrayal, sexual exploitation, derision, neglect, etc. are all forms of mistreatment, because they injure the integrity and dignity of a child, even if their consequences are not visible right away. However, as adults, most abused children will suffer, and let others suffer, from these injuries. This dynamic of violence can deform some victims into hangmen who take revenge even on whole nations and become willing executors to dictators as unutterably appalling as Hitler and other cruel leaders. Beaten children very early on assimilate the violence they endured, which they may glorify and apply later as parents, in believing that they deserved the punishment and were beaten out of love. They don’t know that the only reason for the punishments they have ( or in retrospect, had) to endure is the fact that their parents themselves endured and learned violence without being able to question it. Later, the adults, once abused children, beat their own children and often feel grateful to their parents who mistreated them when they were small and defenseless.

This is why society’s ignorance remains so immovable and parents continue to produce severe pain and destructivity – in all “good will”, in every generation. Most people tolerate this blindly because the origins of human violence in childhood have been and are still being ignored worldwide. Almost all small children are smacked during the first three years of life when they begin to walk and to touch objects which may not be touched. This happens at exactly the time when the human brain builds up its structure and should thus learn kindness, truthfulness, and love but never, never cruelty and lies. Fortunately, there are many mistreated children who find “helping witnesses” and can feel loved by them.

CHERYL AND ROB ON INSIDE EDITION

Watch the video

http://ietv.co/2wqHLJB


Thank you to INSIDE EDITION for having us on the show. The more people who see, read or hear our message, the more people we hope to help.

You do not have to be defined by bad things that happened. Rise above it and reach out to help others.

Writers Tricks of the Trade VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3

Writers Tricks of the Trade VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3

LEARN ABOUT CHILD ABUSE AND RESOURCES FOR AWARENESS AND PREVENTION

VISIT THIS WEBSITE   

Child abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to a child or puts a child at risk of harm. Child abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional. Neglect, or not providing for a child's needs, is also a form of abuse.

Most abused children suffer greater emotional than physical damage. An abused child may become depressed. He or she may withdraw, think of suicide or become violent. An older child may use drugs or alcohol, try to run away or abuse others.

Child abuse is a serious problem. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the police or your local child welfare agency.

Flight attendant sees "help me" written in aircraft toilet, promptly urges pilot to call the police

BY NEWSNER 13 JULY 2017
For many of us, planes symbolize one thing: vacation. Indeed, the mood on airplanes can be quite jovial, with so many traveling to and from vacation spots and allowing their worries to wash away.

Shelia Frederick is a flight attendant for Alaskan Airlines. But one day, while on a routine flight to San Francisco, USA, something caught her eye.

   A well-dressed man sat next to a young, blonde girl who was wearing shabby looking clothes. She looked up when Shelia passed by, and when she did, Shelia felt that the girl's eyes were drilling straight into her soul.

When Shelia tried to talk to the man, he was immediately unpleasant. She immediately felt something was wrong, and went to the airplane toilet where she left a piece of paper and a pen.

As she walked past the girl again, she signaled for her to go to the bathroom.

   The girl followed Shelia's instructions, and when Shelia returned to the toilet, she found devastating words on the scrap of paper: "Help me", it said. 

Shelia went straight to the pilot who helped summon the police to meet them upon landing in San Francisco, according to the Independent.

   As it turns out, the girl was a victim of human trafficking and had been kidnapped two months earlier.

Shelia's encounter and saving of the young victim occured in 2011, when the girl was about 14-years-old. Following the incident, Shelia became a member of Airline Ambassadors International, an organization launched in 2009 by former flight attendant Nancy Rivard to help flight attendants get better training in detecting victims of human trafficking.

   Members of the organization are now working with the US Customs and Border Police to counter human traffic.

Flight attendants can be much better equipped to deal with these kinds of incidents if they're paying attention to the right warning signs, Nancy explains.

   A few weeks after the incident, Shelia received a phone call – it was the young girl she had saved. "Thank you for saving my life," the girl told her.

   The girl had been reunited with her parents and was undergoing therapy to process through her difficult experience.

Shelia and the girl are still in touch.

   The UN estimates that about 1.2 million children are victims of trafficking each year. Human trafficking is the third largest criminal activity in the world, after drugs and arms.

Both girls and boys are sexually exploited, for instance, as cheap labor or soldiers, for adoption or are forced to commit theft, beg or traffic drugs - and things that we can never accept.