#234 Carrie. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9

The story that has impacted my life the most is my husband’s story. He and I met when he was 28 (I was 25) and it was basically love at first sight. After 3 weeks of dating he told me that he had been addicted to pornography/masturbation since he was 13. He told me about…

#219 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,5,6,7,8,9

Ugh, this is hard. I’m not really used to telling my story. But if I can help one child… I was born into an extremely devout Mormon family. Extremely devout. We were never talked to about sex, nor about avoiding or reporting sexual abuse. Unfortunately, my older brothers and sisters were the victims of sexual…

#210 Landon H. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

Sam, July 2nd of 2017 was the first day I had been sober in over a decade. Between drugs and alcohol I had a heavy regiment of self-medication. There was good reason for that self-medicating. I continue that sobriety and am on day 205 as I compile this story the best I can. 2 1/2…

#209 Melissa B. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9

I was eight years old when I was sexually abused, I didn’t even understand what had happened really, I just knew it felt wrong and scary. I was very confused and somehow decided it was my fault because I had been baptized. I didn’t tell anyone what had happened, I was ashamed, I thought no…

#204 Michelle. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Self harm

My story starts with me realizing early in my elementary years, that I liked boys and girls. I was also sexually abused by an older child during first grade. I told no one of the abuse until I was almost 30, except one bishop. A bishop who simply had no training or experience probably, with…

#201 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7,8,9

This is a difficult story to tell. I am sharing it now in the hope that it’ll help put pressure on the church to change these horrid policies, or maybe make someone who has been through a similar situation feel less alone. When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a crush on…

#200 Name hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Other: Unable to trust myself – always needing someone in authority to tell me what I needed to do

My story is complicated. I was sexually abused by family members when I was 5-7, but I didn’t know that’s what it was and didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t feel shame about the abuse, though I imagine my childhood that was full of anxiety and fear could have been because of the sexual abuse. It’s…

#197 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9

I still have not yet recovered from the damage these interviews caused me when I was younger. It damaged my confidence, shamed me from such an early age and caused me mental problems well into adulthood. At age 11, I attempted suicide because I thought I wasn’t “worthy” enough to go to heaven with my…