Is it normal not to know if you were sexually abused?

What I am about to write is very painful for me especially since I don't recall ever telling anyone about this... I have memories, some which are vague, of inappropriate things happening to me as a child at the hands of a relative.

The more and more that I think about it, my grandmother always seemed to have a "fixation" on me being nude as a child. I remember me and my mom having to stay over my grandparents home as a child because our home was being redone. For some reason, when it was time for me to take my bath I wasn't "allowed to take my clothes off IN the bathroom. I believe this rule was set up by my grandmother. I remember having to take off my clothes and she would stare at me with a disturbing look on her face as if she was enjoying it. I would have to tell her constantly not to look at me but she barely seemed to listen. My grandfather on the other hand clearly didn't want to see me in the nude. All I would have to tell him was that he had to cover his eyes and he would do it with no problems.

Perhaps, when I was even younger, I remember that my grandmother would often gives me baths inside the bathroom sink. I liked having them, but I never stopped to wonder why my grandmother ALWAYS seemed to want to give me a bath when she came over! I don't remember exactly what my mom thought of this though, I vaguely remember her saying that it wasn't necessary as she was perfectly capable of doing it. One day, after being dried my grandmother didn't want to put clothes on me. I remember being carried downstairs and my grandmother opening the door and me being made to stand in front of the door.

Anyway, my mom came and when she saw me naked she was livid. She quickly came in the door and locked it then flipped out on my grandmother. I remember one of her main concerns being that she didn't know what kinds of people lived in our neighborhood and that she didn't want me to be exploited. At the time, I had no idea what she meant by this but now I realize that she was referring to child molesters. My grandmother on the other hand, kept acting very "defensively". She kept trying to justify her reasons. My mom won the argument in the end and I think she left the house to do more work outside saying threatening her mother not to do it again.

However, when she left I remember my grandmother trying to turn me against my mom as painting her as being irrational among other things. I have the feeling that my grandmother swore me to secrecy on our conversation.

When I was still very young my grandmother "created" this "game" by which I would lay over her lap and she would spank me. I was sworn to secrecy about it. I liked it and it seemed she did too. I don't recall her ever doing this to me while I was nude, I always had my clothes on. One day, I accidentally let it slip to my mom about this "game" and she flipped out at my grandma. Sometime after the fight I remember wanting to play the "game" and my grandma told me that we couldn't anymore because I told. She made me feel so guilty for my actions.

This is probably one of the most painful memories that I have about this. One that repeatedly haunts me to this day. I think I was in 1st grade when this happened. Around this time, it seemed that I was constantly having irritations/infections in my vulva and my mom would often have to put vagisil on me with a q-tip. Often times, when this happened my grandmother would come to our house and my mom would call her up for advice on my crotch that or my grandmother would ask what we were doing and when she found out about the vagisil she would always come running up the stairs to watch. This time was different...

Because, I hadn't gone through puberty my clitoris was quite prominent. My grandmother at some point pointed at it very closely and asked my mom if it was normal. My mom said "yes" but my grandmother talked about me being taken to the doctor and seeing if it could somehow be shortened. That's when she touched it! My mom told her that she shouldn't of done that and my innocent self said that it felt "good". That's when she touched it again but this time her finger stayed there longer and she took my clitoris and wiggled it. She had the sickest expression on her face. My mom was horrified and angry.

Once again when confronted, my grandmother got defensive and tried to justify her actions by saying that there was noting wrong with it and that I liked it. A fight ensued and my grandmother was told to leave. I didn't understand what happened and I think I even asked my mom to touch me like that and she refused.

I was about 9 years old when this happened. It was a Sunday morning and I had to go to church with my grandmother. I was in the shower bathing myself. Suddenly, I heard the door open and then close very quickly. The next thing I knew the curtains had been open wide and there was my grandmother. I asked her why she was there and that I wanted my privacy. She must have denied my wishes because she stood there watching me. She told me to proceed bathing myself. I protested and she said that this was something that all families did. She insisted that I proceed which I did. I was washing myself at an angle and she didn't like that. She told me to face her. I did so but I was reluctant and upset.

I tried to do it quickly and cover my genitals and breasts in the process. She did like that and made me stop. She wanted to see me wash my vulva. I did it was quick as I could then I attempted to washed myself off. She got upset and told me that I had missed a spot. I told her that I didn't. She instructed me to open labia so she could see everything. I was sacred. I not sure but I think she suddenly reached out and forcibly opened my vulva. She starting gesticulating and saying that I missed places that I didn't. I remember her touching me down there. Poking, prodding and rubbing things, possibly even asking me how it felt. At some point she reluctantly stopped, claiming something, and telling me to rinse off. She handed me the towel. I don't think she dried me but before she left she said in hushed and threateningly tones that we should keep what happened between each other and that I had better not tell anyone about this or I would be sorry.

I remember the drive to the church being very awkward. I didn't feel the same as I did before. I felt weird, like my body no longer belonged to me. My grandma brought the incident up in an almost joking manner. I can't remember exactly was said but I have the feeling that she congratulated me, saying that I did a good job and that I had to trust her more and do things without questioning her.

I am now a legal adult. I've been reliving these memories but I couldn't bring myself to actually believe them, that is until about a month or so ago when I discovered about regressed memories. Suddenly, a lot of things started to make sense... I know that this isn't normal but what should I do about this?

Voting Results
45% Normal
Based on 11 votes (5 yes)
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Comments ( 23 )
  • sega31098

    It is normal for people who were victims of sexual abuse not to know they were sexually abused. A lot of victims tend to be like this until they are older and get counselling.

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  • StarTeddy

    Wow...that's really disturbing. No one should have to go through that. Stay strong, I know you can work through this.

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  • A couple more things.

    Firstly, I suspect that your grandmother is/was mentally ill in some other way. The mention of placing you in the doorway and of touching you RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR MOTHER gives me the impression that this woman didn't quite have it all together. What are your thoughts on this?

    Secondly, I know you don't want to hear this, but your mother must take some of the blame for this matter. Simply put, she didn't do enough to remedy this situation. Becoming "livid" is not enough. Personally, if I were your mother, that woman would have been gone. "Family" or not, she would have been purged from the scene for good.

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    • Avant-Garde

      I think that any child molester IS mentally ill. Since writing this story, I've been finding myself questioning all the things I remember from child especially, certain things that in the past I wouldn't have given a second thought. I'm concerned as to when the abuse truly started. I remember once being told that my grandmother would come every morning, early in the morning, to change me, often times my parents were apparently asleep. I'm worried that she might have done things to me and further prevented my parents from knowing like; closing the door, turning off the baby monitor and giving me a pacifier to silence me. Sometimes, that disturbs me even more is that her inappropriate-fuckingness stopped when turned 18.
      I remember a few months before I turned 18 I was looking at the family album, my mom was outside doing, I think yard work, and my grandmother came in and started looking at the photos with me. She did something that really weirded me out. When it came to the photos of me being delivered and being a nude newborn in one of those in-room plastic cradles that look like storage boxes there was one photo of me lying in the nude. Why I was nude and didn't have a diaper is beyond me and I wonder who took the photos. Anyway, you know what you did? Can you guess? She pointed to that photo with a weird ass look on her face and that said "This is you in the nudie" as she vigorously put her finger on the picture's part of my genitalia and rubbed on it!!!!

      While its not something I would like to comprehend, you do have a point. Its things like this that make me think that you would be a good parent. Heck! Its a shame you weren't mine. You would have probably sent me to therapy soon after and you wouldn't have taught me to lie to my doctors. I'm not sure who was the first to instill that in me but I was never allowed to fully be truthful with my doctors. Depending on how young I was my mother was probably still grieving from the lost of my father. But still, she didn't do enough. I wish that should would have at least told my grandfather, who was abused terribly by his grandmother as a child, and my father's sister, who is also my godmother. My father was sexually abused as a kid (Not by his family!). I feel that the two of them would've taken it very seriously. I'm mad that I or my father's family wasn't allowed to see each other. I think I would have been better off if my Aunt had taken custody of me. Another dumb thing that was done was letting me continue to have a close relationship with my grandmother. I was allowed to spend time with her, travel with her (We often had to share beds but in situations like hotels, for whatever reason, my grandmother wouldn't get a room with two beds and I would have to sleep with her.), I think she even baby sat me.

      Memory regression aside, there were quite a few instances that should have alerted us to the fact that she was a pedophile. Not just the fact that she worked with children in trusted position but that once me and my mom accidentally found child porn on youtube. We didn't click it and decided to show the "thumbnail/video description" to my grandmother. She saw it but unlike us she didn't think it was a problem. She thought that it was "cute and normal" and even asked if we saw it. We of course said "no" but she actually WANTED TO SEE IT. She said that we were overreacting. Me and my mom wanted to report it but she was extremely against it. My mom ended up reporting it away.

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      • ME??? Wow, well that's the nicest thing I've heard from someone in a while. And it may interest you to know that it's not by any means the first time I've heard someone say something like that.

        And did you say that your grandfather was molested by HIS grandmother? That's a bit odd.

        Oh and by the way, are you experiencing a delay in receiving my replies? Because I wasn't informed of this post of yours until just now, although it's listed as being posted a week and four days ago. This has happened before while speaking to you.

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        • Avant-Garde

          Well, when it comes to some things you can be quite sensible.

          While my grandfather was apparently abused terribly by his grandmother, I don't think she sexually abused him. I think it was more on the grounds of psychical, emotional/mental and verbal abuse. Quite possibly even neglect. I think it really shaped him as a man, which is not to say that he was a monster because he wasn't.

          I'm really not sure. Though, I have experienced similar issues with the site.

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          • .....Some things? Hell, I'll take it.

            And I think it says a lot about the world when one sees the word "abused" and naturally assumes that it has sexual connotations.

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  • penpal21

    I would definitely work through this with a therapist. Very sad story. Best wishes for you.

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    • Avant-Garde

      Thank you. I'm in contact with a therapist and I do plan to see this person.

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      • robbieforgotpw

        AG sorry you had to go through that. Hopefully the therapist will enable you to process it all and move forward as a stronger woman.

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        • Avant-Garde

          Thank you, Robbie. I hope so too.

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  • You were definitely sexually abused.

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    • Avant-Garde

      Thank you for clearing that up. Before and right up to the time I wrote this, I was finding myself in denial. Parts of me still don't want to believe this. I wish my brain instead of just regressing memories had actually erased them but then again, if they were, there would be no way for revealing my relative's crimes and she would continue to walk free, which she unfortunately does now.

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      • YOU? Wow, that caught me off guard. I actually had the suspicion that this was a troll post (too much detail), but now it's clear enough that that isn't the case.

        By the way, I find it POWERFULLY ironic that you once mentioned the paranoia that your family instilled in you regarding non-related adult men. Someone took advantage of you, and as it turns out, it was your grandmother; very much related to you and very much a female.

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        • Avant-Garde

          I was thinking that it was ironic. If anything I should have been fearing women not men. But when I was a child I was fed the stereotype that men were kidnappers and evil and women were safe. Mind you, I remember being told this by my grandmother. I think its just another case when she tried to brainwash me and throw all suspicion off of her. As much as I want to go in for therapy, I'm worried that more disturbing things could be uncovered. Its unsettling. Almost as if a huge part of my life was lie. :/

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  • gummy_jr

    Your grandma is disgusting

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    • Avant-Garde

      I figured. Its a relief to know that I had such a good reason to despise her for so long.

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      • gummy_jr

        No child should ever have to experience something like that, childhood is supposed to be pure and innocent but clearly she ruined that ): I'm sorry you had to go through that.

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        • Avant-Garde

          Thank you. I really don't understand how anyone could her a child especially in such a manner. To think that my life could have been drastically better if it wasn't for that makes me upset. To think that I'm probably always going have to be working through this is yet another reason to make me angry.

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          • gummy_jr

            ): but she can't get to you anymore now right? Forgetting her is easier said than done, I wish I could offer advice but this has never happened to me before.

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            • Avant-Garde

              Yes, she does. I want to go to the police about this but the situation I'm in is very delicate. I still live in the same house I grew up in which as further insult to injury because all of the occurrences I remember happened in this house. The organ wriggling happened in the room that I'm in now and spend most of my time. In fact, its probably why in the past I kept being assaulted mentally by that specific memory when I was in this room. The bathroom is the same place where the shower fondling took place. I think some features were changed but its still difficult for me to comprehend. I am still, admittedly, dependent on that relative for certain things, my mom included. I can't forget her because not only does she come into my home and expect me to love her but its the fact that I also know that in her profession that she works with kids who are expected to both obey and trust her. The urgency to report her is increased. I can't wait to start therapy. I am both nervous to talk about these things because I've never used my voice to say them and I want to have a chance at a somewhat functional life. Though, I do worry that during therapy having to relive those memories as well as having to come in contact with that relative might cause more trauma for me.

              I'm glad that this has never happened to you before. Hopefully, it never does.

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  • Shackleford96

    That is seriously fucked up. Seek professional counseling.

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    • Avant-Garde

      I've been in contact with a therapist, whom I do plan to go to. This is one of the many fields that person specializes in. There were some other things I forgot to mention and one is that my relative has had a long career in teaching and that she works with minors.

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