Bible teacher Joyce Meyer’s testimony of her abuse is going viral once more.
Originally posted in 2012, Meyer’s reposted the video as part of her “Everyday Answers” series devotional.
“He didn’t force me physically, but through lies, and manipulation, and fears, and threats, I was still forced,” Meyer said. “Literally, what he did was rape me, every week, at least once a week, until the time I was 18.
“My father, who I was supposed to be able to trust, who was supposed to keep me safe, raped me a minimum of 200 times,” she said.
According to the national Child Traumatic Stress Network, more than half of all children who are sexually abused are abused by a parent/relative.
“When children are abused by adults who are supposed to protect them from harm, their ability to trust and rely on adults may be shattered. Knowing that the abuser is liked—or even loved—by other family members makes it all the more difficult for children to tell others about the abuse,” the organization says in a report.
“Children who have been abused by a family member are more likely to blame themselves for the abuse than those who are abused by someone outside the family unit. This is particularly true of older children, who may be all too aware of the effect that disclosing the abuse will have on other family members.”
Click here to watch the video to see more of Meyer’s story.
