Dear Editor,
It is with a heavy heart that I write to you. While we wait for the Police to complete their investigations into the heartbreaking death of the four-day-old baby girl, many thoughts flood my mind.
It breaks my heart every time I read about a child or baby being sexually abused. While I in no way support sexual abuse of anyone, it is even more painful when I read or hear of the sexual abuse of babies and children. It boggles my mind to think that anyone can look at a child or baby and be sexually aroused.
The term “pedophilia” is used by experts to describe such an individual. Call it what you may, I call it “sadistic” and “inhumane.” I believe it is reprehensible, and those found guilty should be punished to the full extent of the law.
While I am no psychologist or expert, I believe I can pronounce on the lasting impact, the trauma, that is left on the abused. Most abused victims are almost never able to trust anyone ever again, which affects almost every relationship they try to build. Some remain devoid of personal attachment, while many experience problems with physical intimacy. Some even have trouble looking at themselves in the mirror. Some take extremely long showers in the attempt to wash away the filth.
The effects of abuse are lifelong, and there really aren’t proven ways to deal with the lifelong effects of sexual abuse. One copes on a daily basis; some days are better than some. The lasting effects of child sexual abuse are plentiful, and would require more than just a letter to explain and discuss.
My appeal is to the adults, the older siblings, the neighbours, the family members: Please help to keep our little ones safe. Please protect them at all cost. Do not hurt them. Do not abuse them. Do not take their innocence from them. It is our responsibility to ensure they are loved and cared for.
I have always said that we don’t get to choose our parents, and as such, parents have a right and obligation to protect the children they chose to bring into the world. I know this is another debatable topic, but let’s leave that for another time.
It is my hope that good sense and compassion would prevail, and we are able to stop sexual abuse in any shape and form.
Yours faithfully,
I Ram
