Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2511

Tonight's special guest is Kristina Delorenzo from Albany, New York, a survivor of childhood abuse of all types. She was born into severe neglect and witnessed her mom being abused physically, mentally and verbally assaulted. Kristina herself was sexually abused starting at about seven years old. Repeatedly reporting the abuse had little lasting effect, and it showed up again in her own adulthood. "It affects me to this day," she says. "I don’t trust people. It effects how I handle my kids, school, relationships, police. I'm constantly battling something that was ages ago that you can’t see." Basic hygiene was never heard of in her home. "Between the ages of 7-9, I started being sexual abused. I told my parents but they didn’t believe me. They said 'the boys are angels' and would do no such thing." She goes on, "I told everybody. I had CPS at school. I remember writing a statement about what occurred. The cops came to the house. What I remember is that they were recommending that I not be left alone with them. I was told I couldn’t wear certain things because I was teasing them. Sometimes I would have out-of-body experiences." Kristina shares her story and the hard work it takes to build a healthy adult life while trying to heal from the trauma of neglect and childhood sexual abuse.