Araceli Padilla

4B

A Mother’s Worst Nightmare

Maria Gomez had always had a wish of becoming a mother and she

wanted to be able to have a family that she could love

because it was something that she had looked up to her

mother. Her dream of being able to start a family came true. She is the

mother of three children, who she adored with her whole life and

wished for nothing bad for them to go through and they were always

protected. However, children can’t always stay protected even if they are kept in a bubble. Any

mother can agree to this even though the fact is harder than you think, especially when living in a

place like Mexico and having to work any job to be able to provide for her children. Maria had to

work very hard and be able to provide for that family she dearly wanted and loved so she had to

work in the strawberry and tomato fields having to pick and there were times Gomez stated, “It

was very hard especially when it was the summer and it made the job so much harder, but I had

to think of my family.” Gomez is a very tough but hardworking person who thinks of others

before herself. Gomez stated, “Ever since I was a little girl I was taught to work very hard when I

was younger it was for my parents and siblings but now I have the full focus on my children and

my husband helping me to do that.”

However, to think about the possibility of your child going through a horrible experience

of going though sexual abuse must be one of the hardest things in an interview with Cecilia

Granados who is also a mother states, “ Sexual abuse is one of the things no one wishes for there

kids or anyones else kids.”

 According to to Child Sexual Abuse Statstics it states, “ 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys are

victim of child abuse.” It is nonsensical how high these numbers are and especially in girls. It

also states, “During a one-year period in the U.S 16% of youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually

victimized.” In the course of that time period it must be harder to go though such a difficult

experience due to the different things that one goes through those ages naturally of puberty and

going to highschool.

When Gomez was asked about the experience she remembers how she wishes she could

have switched places with her but she said that she was around 39 when this occurred and “It

was something that I never expected to go through with one of

my children and especially with my daughter Josylen, it was as

if a switch occurred in her. I had worked very hard to be able to

protect my children from any harm and the person who hurt her

was our own family.” Gomez also stated, “ That's why when

people say that you can’t trust anyone but yourself it's true and ever since then I have had a

harder time trusting people, before I was taught to always trust your elders and your family

members and I also taught that to my children.”

In an interview with Sam Judd-Kim a specialist in prevention stated, “Many times these

switches occur due to the victims going through is due to having time to accept what has

occurred and being able to feel trusted enough and be able to feel like they are going to be

believed in their experience.” So it's hard for survivors to be able to come to the people they

trust because they don’t think that anyone will believe them and what they went through.

Gomez also stated, “before everyone would be able to state how my daughter was very

happy, brought smiles to others, never shy with others, and was really outgoing. However, after
she was the complete opposite as if there was a darkness within her that she couldn’t get rid of

and wouldn’t speak to anyone as she shut everyone out.” A reason for the silence would be due

to “ The feeling of fear of being silenced and not being able to have a support system to turn to

get help.” according to KMD Law. A support system is one of the most important things a

survivor needs someone to turn to so that they can be believed and put trust.

However, according to California Megans Law it stated, “ Over 90% of child victims

know their victims know their offenders being a family member.” However Gomez stated, “ The

offender was a family member to my daughter of Joselyn and she had to go through it alone but

I’m so glad that she didn’t have to wait months but you could tell how fast her attitude change

however, she told me after two days the abuse occurred and it filled my flesh with anger.” It's

good however that the survivor was able to get a support person who was her mother and then

she let on told her closest cousin who also stated, “Once I found out about it was something I

was in shocked when she first told and but then it had me furious because she didn’t deserve to

go through that and I made sure to tell her that I was there for her no matter what.”

What made this family even more furious was how the fact the offender had to use force

on her made it much worse. However, according to California Megans Law it states, “Abusers

gain access to their victims through deception and

enticement, seldom using force.” Something that gives

the offender an advantage especially when it is an adult

and a youth its strength is very clear.

Gomez ended her interview with, “I was

however very proud of my daughter for her courage on being able to come to be and be able to

speak on something that she had to go thorough and had to speak about something so horrible
she did it and be able to show the other girls in our hometown that if they go though it to not be

ashamed and be able to speak up and get the help they need because there are so many different

people who want to help out there.”

References/ Sources

● Child Sexual Abuse Statistics – The National Center for Victims of Crime. (n.d.).

https://victimsofcrime.org/child-sexual-abuse-statistics/

● Law, K. (2021, July 7). Why Sexual Assault Survivors are Afraid to Speak Up. KMD

Law. https://www.kmdlaw.com/blog/2021/july/why-sexual-assault-survivors-are-afraid-

to-speak/

● California Megans Law. (n.d.).

https://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/mobile/Education_MythsAndFacts.aspx