I recently read the following article from Huffington Post written by women and children's advocate and author, Cheryl Saban.  The sentence, "Did you know that girls aged 15 to 19 years old account for 50% of victims of sexual abuse worldwide" jumped out at me.  To read the complete article use the following link.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cheryl-saban /thank-heaven-for-little-g_b_172884.html. 
The title, "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" strikes a sad chord in my heart.  Having been incested at the age of 13, beaten and raped many times in the following five years before running away from home and having spent the next almost twenty-five years married to three abusers, living part time in a women's shelter, hospitalized in a psychiatric ward twice for attempted suicide and date raped more times than I care to remember I can validate that there is an entire world out there that most people do not care to know about. 
I gave a talk at a Lion's Club last year.  Most of the audience were older and as I began speaking of what had happened to me and what I was trying to do to minimize this problem I realized that the majority of the people averted their faces from me.  One man even stood up and turned his chair backwards to me before he sat back down. I was appalled and yet I understood.  But I had to make an attempt to change their attitudes.  When I asked them:  "If you went home tonight and found that your house had been robbed, your jewels and computer had been stolen would you be angry; would you be calling the police, telling your neighbors, your family, your friends?  Of course you would.  Why not then would you do the same if it were your daughter, or the little girl across the street, or the teenager who babysits for you who had been robbed, robbed of their innocence, their future, their very mental, spiritual, emotional and even spiritual health?
We are talking about our future; the children of today are the adults of tomorrow, the adults who will be making decisions for us, running our country, our businesses.  And yet, as they move through life they will be hemorrhaging inside and using their best attempt to hide it.  They will be covered with shame and guilt and have no way or knowledge of how to rid themselves of the dark shadows that lurk in their mind.
They need help.  Our world needs help. These are the innocent and harming the innocent is the cruelest, most vile act of all.   What can you do?  Check into The Lamplighters.  Our website is at www.thelamplighters.org.  Whether you are a survivor or an advocate you can start a chapter.  You can encourage children, young women and women of all ages to come out, come out wherever they are..........and tell their story.  In telling their story they will be healing, helping and rehabilitating themselves to lead healthy lives. One day I want Lamplighters all over the world.  Today there are 40 chapters in five countries.  Let's make that 4,000 chapters in 50 countries.  It's such a small thing to do, costs nothing and will give you a sense of purpose you never thought possible.
Encourage people who need help to get the book REPAIR Your Life: A Program for Recovery from Incest & Childhood Sexual Abuse which is for adults.  For children ages six to twelve there is a book called REPAIR For Kids: A Children's Program for Recovery from Incest & Childhood Sexual Abuse.  Before the end of the year there will be a REPAIR For Toddlers.......and yes, there are toddlers that have been violated
Help these children.  Help the world to have healthy people running it.  Get involved.  Be an advocate