Shattered young lives   Children are seen at Hoa Hong Nho (Little Roses) Center in Ho Chi Minh City's District 7. Photo: By courtesy of Hoa Hong Nho Center Many child victims of sexual abuse are grappling to have their mental scars healed and get on with their life ahead. Hoa Hong Nho (Little Roses) Center in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7 is now home to such victims. The names of some have been changed in this article. Tainted childhood 14-year-old Hang, a meek, well-loved girl from the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, rarely dares to have eye contact and usually cowers in the presence of strangers. It took a long while to get her to recount her sad story. At 9, the adorable Hang was living with her mother and younger brother. Her father would drop by her home once in a while. An afternoon in 2007, while her mother and brother were not home, Hang was suddenly lifted up from behind while she was cleaning the house. To her utter astonishment, it was her father. “He put me on the bed. I was in a lot of pain. When he was done, before leaving, he threatened to kill me if I uttered a word to anyone about this,” she recalled in tears. Every month for the five following years, Hang’s father showed up and performed this appalling act on his own daughter. He was caught in the act by a neighbor before being put in jail. Hang was later sent to Hoa Hong Nho, where she has been receiving assistance in getting over the lasting impacts of the incestuous, nightmarish abuse. In another high-profile case in District 7, three young girls aged from 8 to 12 were sexually assaulted by their stepfather. Worse, their own mother was well aware of this and allowed it to happen again and again. The disgusting mother even held her daughters’ arms and legs for her pedophilic husband to carry out the act repeatedly for a long time. They were later jailed for several years, while the young, motherless girls had no one to count on. Like Hang, most girls at the center were sexually abused by their own relatives or neighbors. Worse, they even got pregnant and abortion following the rape. Lan, from southern Tien Giang Province, had to get an abortion after being repeatedly raped by her uncle. Huong, from southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, was raped by a neighbor in his 60s. Her parents weren’t aware of the incident until she was over 4 months pregnant. Deep mental scars From 2005 till now, Hoa Hong Nho Center has admitted almost 350 young girls who are victims of or at high risk of sexual abuse. According to Le Thi Mai, the center’s vice head, most of them were sexually victimized by their own relatives, including uncles, fathers, stepfathers, neighbors or their relatives’ friends who had readily accessible contact with them. “Their scars are even deeper when the offenders are their own family members or relatives.” Mai said. “The subsequent agony and obsession is almost unendurable.” Mai added that sexual abuse most likely occurs in homes lacking in personal space and in which the girls reach their puberty early while their parents aren’t concerned about or unwary of the risks. According to the center’s care providers, many girls after being rescued remained in emotional turmoil for a long time. The first thing they could do to help the girls is assist them in settling down emotionally, which is a daunting, months-long task. Hang, who sobbed for one week, still loves her father. “He did that to me again and again, I was in so much pain but didn’t dare to tell anyone, fearing he might get jailed,” the girl confided. “When asked by the policemen, I lied that he did it to me for only a dozen times,” she recalled tearfully. “I want to pay him a visit in jail, he’s my dad after all, but now I still can’t forgive him,” Hang sadly said. After having her over-4-month fetus aborted, Huong, like other girls at the center, grew quiet, reclusive, depressive and sullen. All of them cried all the time. According to Mai, the center also provides the girls with life skills, knowledge, and job training and opportunities. “Their wounds will never heal completely. They still have a long way ahead, and it would be tougher when they’re old enough to get married and have children,” Mai noted. According to the 2011statistics of the Children Care and Protection Office under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, up to 1,453 children were sexually abused nationwide, Bao Moi reported. Rapes accounted for up to 80%. Recent years have seen a rising rate of rapes of children under 4 years old. According to Dan Tri, in the past 4 years, over 60 kids under 6 years old have been sexually harassed in HCMC alone. Each year, a mere 40% are taken to court per 1,000 assault cases nationwide, An Ninh Thu Do reported. TuoitreNews