Taylor's Story

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Taylor* recounts being physically abused by her brother for years and how her parents dismissed it as sibling rivalry.

What happened?

"My brother started by destroying my prized possessions. One Christmas I got the doll I had been hoping for. A few weeks later it disappeared. My mom and I searched everywhere with no success. I was in tears! A few weeks later my brother very proudly told me how he threw my doll in the trailer that dad took to the dump...

"The real abuse, physical beatings, started a 5-6 years later. One evening my parents went out and we had a babysitter. I was watching TV and my brother came in and wanted to turn it. When I said 'no, I’m watching this' he proceeded to pull the curlers out of my hair along with large chunks of hair also being pulled out. It hurt so bad and I kicked back at him until he finally quit... We both got in trouble for fighting.

"My parents always looked at it as sibling rivalry and I was not able to make them see how I did not instigate or participate except to defend myself. I endured several pretty severe beatings at the hands of my brother...

"One of the worst and scariest times was on a summer evening at home. I had a glass of orange juice and it was the last bit of juice left. He came home a little later and got enraged there was no orange juice left. When he saw my glass he started hitting me in the head with his fist and I fell back in my chair. He then picked me up and carried me out onto the back porch and threw me down the porch steps scraping my back on the way down. My mom was outside and saw it. As badly as I was hurt, we both still got yelled at for fighting. No one would listen when I said I wasn’t doing anything. These attacks occurred about 4 or 5 times a year until I was 16."

Anything else to add?

"I felt like I carried this pain for a long time. Then one summer my mom and dad were going to visit my brother and asked me and my husband to go, too, and bring my two daughters... The mother in me was going to give my daughters the safety and protection I never got. When I told my parents we wouldn’t be going they couldn’t understand why. I recounted all the times I was hurt and terrorized by my brother and didn’t want my daughters near him. They started brushing it off as sibling fighting when I told them it wasn’t... Things changed after that. They quit trivializing his behavior and over the years that followed even admitted he has some big problems. I felt like I had not only taken care of my daughters but also spoke up for the hurt child in me."

 

Need Help?

211 Hotline
Mental health resources for yourself or someone you care about: https://www.211.org/get-help/mental-health

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or chat online: 988lifeline.org

Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a volunteer crisis counselor or visit www.crisistextline.org

RAINN
National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 or chat via https://hotline.rainn.org/

Stop It Now! Helpline
Anyone with questions or concerns about child sex abuse: call 1.888.PREVENT or visit https://www.stopitnow.org/get-immediate-help

SAARA Resources:

 

*All names are pseudonyms to protect the privacy of those who share their stories with us.

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