Sherri Van Houten

The Injured Sheep: How to Be Spiritual Activists with Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse Sherri Van Houten

For twenty-five percent of American youths, their chances of being "normal" will be altered by sexual abuse with one in four females and one in six males being sexually abused by the age of eighteen; furthermore, in eighty-five percent of the cases, the offender is one of their nice so-called "normal" friends, neighbors, or relatives. For these victims, the normal world is pierced by the assaults of a pedophile. Through no fault of their own, these youths are forced into a world of abnormality, secrecy, betrayal of innocence, and, sometimes, torturous sexual violations. Because of their victimization, the abused are on a one-way trip, transported to a world far away from the world of "normal." They are banished from the kingdom of "normal." It is not without tears that this book has been written, and affecting a better understanding of sexual abuse in non-victims will not be a journey without tears. Many people do not know the facts, while others simply prefer to remain in the dark because reality is too unpleasant. Yet, without the help of non-victims (the so-called "normal" people) these victims - the injured sheep - - will surely suffer the aftereffects of abuse more severely because they feel freakish. This book begins with my own story, as I feel obligated to paint the pages with my personal pain before asking my peers to put the blood of their trauma on paper. From our experiences, there are many obvious common threads in our behaviors, and also in our relationship with our Creator. These threads are interwoven into the pattern of our healing processes and are there for skillful spiritual activists to help mend the jagged rips caused by childhood sexual abuse.