Tracy-Ann Cameron – triumph over abuse

Today, Tracy-Ann Cameron is not where she wants to be emotionally, but will be the first to admit that she has come a long way from where she was.

After going through a traumatic event in her life at age 11, the 38-year-old said the scars have been hard to shake, it has even carried over into her relationship with the opposite sex.

Reliving the horrible details with The Gleaner, she shared that she was at a neighbour’s house where she would watch television after school. She recalls the particular show being Rags To Riches.

When she reached the house where her two friends also lived, she said they hadn’t arrived from school as yet so their father invited her to come in and wait for them.

Sharing the details, Cameron said she felt uncomfortable when he started questioning her on whether she could cook, if she had a boyfriend and if she was having sex.

“So I said no to all. I could cook at the time, but those other questions made me so uncomfortable that I insisted on saying no,” she related.

Cameron said he then lifted her up and tried to force his face down on hers as he tried to kiss her. She vividly recalls the coarseness of his beard rubbing against her cheeks and using all her 11-year-old strength to get away from him.

When the rain started falling, she told him she had to go to get the clothes off the line and thankfully, his children arrived and burst through the door, so she was able to leave.

She said thought about telling her grandmother who she was living with at the time, but she could not bring herself to tell anyone.

“I was so terrified I couldn’t tell anyone as he told me never to mention it to anyone. A few days later, he then sent a pack of tennis balls and told my brother that a long time him no see me and if I am OK. I never set back foot at their house until about three months later when [he left],” she informed.

Narrow escapes

Cameron said she narrowly escaped two other attempts by family members when she went to their house.

Years later, although no penetration was involved, she said it has impacted her life negatively. She has an aversion to kisses as it brings back the memory of the course face pressed against her when she was younger.

“Up to this day I do not like men with heavy facial hair. I used to be so scared that I didn’t want to trust anyone. Even when I started menstruating, I was so afraid to be around men,” she shared.

Cameron told The Gleaner that she had to live with the guilt that she was wrong to go to the house, hence her being attacked and almost violated. She blamed herself for a long delay in speaking about her ordeal.

“Well after some years when I started working, I spoke with other persons who had the same experience and even worse, in terms of having their virginity taken against their will,” she shared.

She noted that some of them have turned to lesbian relationships.

“I’m still struggling, but at least my faith is pushing me on and I know I will eventually get there,” are the promising words from her.

It is against this background that she is encouraging other victims, who may have gone through worse than she did, to think about their well-being and seek a support system.