One man’s journey through trauma and healing

BREAK THE SILENCE

- NADIA KHAN [e-mail]

ALMOST four decades after a Phoenix man was sexually abused by a family friend, he recounted the harrowing experience and the long-lasting effects it had on his life.

The 47-year-old man, who requested anonymity, said to date he still had flashbacks of the abuse and required counselling.

“You never truly heal, but just learn to cope, taking each day as it comes.”

The man said the first sexual assault occurred while visiting a family member's home when he was eight.

“I went on holiday with my mother to her relative’s home.

“There was a function and the men were drinking. It was around midnight, and they were playing cards when my uncle’s friend, who was about 20-years-old, asked me to fetch them cooldrink from a storage building at the back of the property. When I returned, he said it wasn’t the right one, and sent me back.

“Moments after I entered the building, I felt someone push me against a wall. It was him. He bit me on my neck and ears and put his hand inside my shorts.

“After what felt like a long time, he removed his hand and left. | ran to the main house and told a relative what had just happened, but they told me to stop talking ‘nonsense’.