Tanisha's story is about a young girl sexually abused from infancy, put in foster care around the age of 7, sexually abused by her foster dad up to the age of around 13- Placed in Juvy for being a run away - All she ever wanted was to have a family that would love her!
...
Tanisha - From The Cradle to The Grave
I have struggled for three days on how to tell Tanisha's (not her real name) story as I get extremely emotional just thinking about her. I have decided to just give you a bit of background on her and then simply describe my conversation with her on her "last night" in Juvenile Detention.
Tanisha got caught up in the system at the young age of 3. She was removed from her home by the Child Protection Agency when it was reported that she was being sexually molested. She was immediately taken to a foster home for placement. She was constantly molested, beaten and threatened by her foster father until around the age of 13. She finally ran away from the home, was reported by the foster parent as a runaway, picked up by the cops and brought to Juvenile Detention and remained in the system until she was around 16 or 17. She was placed in one foster home after another but something would always happen to cause her to runaway. Every time she would runaway, she would either live in the streets or stay with friends. When things would get bad, she would turn herself in and be brought back to Juvy. She would be held in Juvy until another placement could be found for her. Each time a placement would be found, she would get excited. She was allowed to meet her perspective new foster parents prior to be released.
One night Tanisha had been in the visiting area talking to a new couple. She came running up to me after the visit. "I have good news, the Jones family want me to come live with them! They said they might even adopt me!! I'm am finally going to have a "real family." Three weeks later she was back in Juvy. I asked her why she had run away again. this was her reply, "They made me live in the basement full of rats and the only time they let me out was when there was work to do." "I just could not take it anymore. Besides, I'm pregnant now, so I will start my own family. I will finally have someone to love that I know will love me back!" I asked her about the baby's father and she advised me she could not say as she didn't want to get him in trouble.
Tanisha was released again to a foster family which took in pregnant underage females. This was the last time I saw Tanisha.
A few months later another Juvy Officer called me at home on my day off. She asked me if I had watched the news the night before. "No, who got killed this time?" "Tanisha," she replied. Here is the accounting of her death as close as I can remember it:
Tanisha and her boyfriend were staying with a couple and living in their basement. The couple had heard yelling and arguing all morning from the basement. After a few hours, the arguing stopped and the boyfriend left the house. They assumed that everything was okay, so they didn't bother to go to the basement. Later that afternoon, they decided to go check on Tanisha as she had not come upstairs all day to eat. When they got to the basement, they found Tanisha hanging by a rope from the basement rafter. Both Tanisha and her unborn baby were dead.
The investigation revealed that the boyfriend was the one who hung her. fortunately he was caught and charged with double homicides.
Rest in Peace my Angels!
....
“Young girls are like helpless children in the hands of amorous men, whatever is said to them is true and whatever manipulation on their bodies seems like love to them, sooner or later, they come back to their senses, but the scars are not dead inasmuch as her spoiler lives.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, Trials Of A Damsel
...
Many people who experience sexual abuse in their formative years come to see their sexual availability as their primary worth. While the abuse itself may have been deeply painful, internalized conditioning caused by sustained sexual trauma can distort your sense of self, fracture your understanding of healthy relationship dynamics, and cause you to seek validation in sexual activity. The feeling of being wanted by another person becomes intoxicating and essential to your self-esteem; sex becomes an attempt to gain love, belonging, and acceptance while guarding against abandonment or rejection. This may be particularly true if the abuser made explicit connections between affection, desirability, love, and sexual activity.
Childhood Sexual Abuse and Hypersexuality: How Trauma Informs Sex Addiction
...
...
@familyprotection was started approximately 3 months ago. If you are concerned about where these funds are going, please take the time to read this post:
We are Family Protection, Keeping Families Safe, Together.
@familyprotection/we-are-family-protection-keeping-families-safe-together
@markwhittam grew up in the care of CPS and then many years later he and his family had to flee their country under threats from the state to take their child because they home schooled.
Linda, @canadian-coconut, started @familyprotection because she has helped several families who have been torn apart at the hands of the legal kidnappers aka. Child Protection Services.
We are Family Protection, Keeping Families Safe, Together.
@familyprotection/we-are-family-protection-keeping-families-safe-together
...
It is up to us as a Community to uncover the truth and spread this truth worldwide!
If you or someone you know have children that are now wards of the state and/or government, we encourage you to share your story. If you are an underage youth caught up in this insane cycle of abuse and control..Please share your story..If you have friends in abusive situations..Please have them share their story. We here at steemit.com have caring people that that are willing to help you in anyway we can.
If you wish to donate in support of this project, please do so by sending your donations in the form of Steem, Steem Power and or SBD to @familyprotection
Show your support for @familyprotection, @markwhittam, and @canadian-coconut by visiting their blogs, leaving comments revelent to this most worthy cause, upvoting and resteeming as many of these posts as you feel drawn to do. Please read this post prior to using the @familyprotection tag on any of your posts!
@markwhittam/before-using-the-familyprotection-tag-please-read-this
...
"Let the things break your heart that break the heart of God!"
...
...steemit posts in support of @familyprotection by @thethreehugs...
My Wish for You! In Support of the "Victims"
@thethreehugs/colorchallenge-blue-friday-my-wish-for-you-in-support-of-the-victims-familyprotection
My life as a Juvenile Detention Officer...A series of True Stories of Abuse of Children (Introduction)
My life as a Juvenile Detention Officer...A series of True Stories of Abuse of Children - Maria (Part 1)
My life as a Juvenile Detention Officer...A series of True Stories of Abuse of Children - Maria (Part 2)
My life as a Juvenile Detention Officer...A series of True Stories of Abuse of Children - Tanisha - From The Cradle to The Grave
What are the three things that cannot remain hidden?
@thethreehugs/what-are-the-three-things-that-cannot-remain-hidden
photos from pixabay.com
...
...
MAHALO FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!