“I was NOT sexually groomed and “abused” for years. I was coerced to accept and perform sex acts, and then raped repeatedly, and I call that - “assault”.”
Linda Kay Gifford
SELF TALK - CALL IT ASSAULT!
Hi, I’m Linda Kay Gifford, mom of three awesome young men, online fair trade and charitable entrepreneur, and even a little-known, but IBMA award-winning, singer-songwriter and flautist.
I’ve been invited onto the stage with the likes of Blues legends Carl Weathersby and Delbert McClinton; opened for Willie Nelson at the finest hotel in Maui, and won Best International Bluegrass Album of the year in 2004 as a writer for The Del McCoury Band and… Surprise!…
I’m, also, a Survivor of seven years of childhood sexual grooming and childhood sexual… What do think I’m about to say? Fill in the blank for me…
Childhood Sexual _______…
“ASSAULT”
Childhood Sexual Assault.”
I was NOT sexually groomed and “abused” for years. I was coerced to accept and perform sex acts, and then raped repeatedly, and I call that - “assault”.
I want YOU - I NEED you - to start calling it ASSAULT.
Here’s a clarifier for you:
So… I punch you in the face!
Are you going to accuse me of facial “abuse”? Did I just “abuse” your face? No! You’re going to file “Assault” charges against me!
So WHY is it any different when a perpetrator sexually violates or traffics a child or adult - when a rapist violates ANYbody?
Why is it that we collectively refer to sexual assault as sexual “abuse”?
Do you hear the difference?
Do you FEEL the difference?
I do, and words matter,
so start there.
Please, CALL IT ASSAULT!
###