Tonight's special guest is Gerard Edwards from Tampa, Florida. He was sexual abused by both females and males. "Childhood trauma is hard to discuss especially when it happened multiple times," he says. Gerard was molested by a female babysitter for 2 years between the ages of 5 and 7. Then he was assaulted again in the second grade at age 8 by a family member. "I struggled with anger and struggle with my identity for years, Gerard reports. "I felt disgusted, unloved, and neglected." These feelings are shared by many child abuse survivors as are misplaced thoughts about being responsible and shamed by having experience abuse. But the blame ALWAYS belongs to the adult involved, never the innocent child. "For years I blamed my mother for the incidents," he says, "because I felt she failed to protect me." Gerard says that having his innocence taken at such a young age was devastating. "I learned that forgiveness is the best solution for me." For many this is a big part of their healing and recovery from child abuse. "Now, I have become a loving husband and father. Going through those experiences pushed me to be someone that is willing to speak out against child abuse and one day become an advocate. I now have a bachelors of arts in psychology. Psychology is a field that best suits me because it provides an opportunity to give back and help those who struggle mentally and emotionally." We'd love Gerard to engage with NAASCA as a volunteer. There's a LOT to do!
