At age 13, I was sexually abused by a school teacher (LDS). When I finally worked up the courage to talk to my Bishop, he told me that I had jeopardized the temple marriage and celestial standing of this man, but I could be forgiven. He made suggestions like take cold showers and sleep with mittens on. The abuse went on from age 13-16 and I thought it was my fault. That I was marked, broken, and inferior, and had lost the only thing that gave me value– purity. The consequences lasted into adulthood and affected every aspect of my life. A different response from the Bishop could have changed the course of my life.
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