“Today I wore a pair of faded old jeans and a plain grey baggy shirt. I hadn't even taken a shower, and I did not put on an ounce of makeup. I grabbed a worn out black oversized jacket to cover myself with even though it is warm outside. I have made conscious decisions lately to look like less of what I felt a male would want to see. I want to disappear.”

tags: advocates, america, anxiety, anxiety-attack, anxiety-disorders, arizona, child-abuse, control, corruption, crime, crime-and-punishment, domestic, domestic-abuse, domestic-violence, enable-abuse, family, family-drama, family-relationships, fighter, government, growing-up, growth, healing, hope, hopeful, hopeful-heart, hurt, injustice, inspire, justice, justice-system, law-enforcement, lawmakers, laws, life, living, memoir, memories, overcoming, panic-attack, panic-attacks, pedophile, physical-abuse, police, politicians, politics, post-traumatic-stress, power, powerful-story, powerless, ptsd, quote, quotes, rape, rape-culture, rape-of-a-child, rape-survivor, raped, red-tape, safety, sexual-abuse, sexual-assault, sexual-violence, south, southern, survival, survive, survivor, survivors-of-abuse, truth, united-states, united-states-of-america, violence, violence-against-women, youth