Hello EW. I am really sorry this was done to you. In term of statistics, the 1 in 4 pertains to just those incidents that are reported to "authorities." The number is actually much higher, like 1 in 3. Trauma is trauma, and I understand what you are saying that yours might sound tiny in comparison to others, but trauma remains with us forever, like you said, it haunts you to this day. Do you think you remembered all that you had to remember? I think the shock of it renders us mute. Or it's like a dog being hurt that plays dead to protect himself. The dog shuts down. You shut down, mute with fear. Even those of us who did not grow up in pure and wholesome households don't know what to do. I mean, even after what we may have witnessed, when we are touched and we know it's wrong, we just do not know what to do next. Your instinct did tell you to protect your body with clothing. When we don't tell our mothers it is sometimes because we feel we are to blame in some way, and we don't want to be scolded, or we are afraid we won't be believed. Maybe just talking about it here will help it to haunt you less. I hope so. L, PL