Deborah Shaffer's Daughter
Story Submission Date: January 26, 2006
Visitor Submittter: Deborah Shaffer
Event Date: April 6, 2003
Cruise Bruise: Sexually Assaulted
Age: Minor child
Home Town: USA
Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Lines
Cruise Ship: Carnival Legend
Details:
The first night we were on the ship, my 15 year old daughter met a girl her age who was on board the ship with her parents and two brothers. Around 10pm my daughter brought the girl to my room to introduce her to me and to tell me that they were going to her room to watch a video. I was already half asleep when they came but I told my daughter to be back by midnight.
I fell back to sleep and woke up at 4:00am to find my daughter was not back. At that point I had no idea where my daughter was, did not know where the room was and could not remember the girls name. I hysterically ran to security and we started knocking on cabin doors.
We finally found the correct cabin and my daughter came out with her eyes swollen and puffy. I thought that it had been because she had been sleeping. I was very upset with my daughter and I was angry. I had no idea that she had been raped.
Two days later my 13 year old daughter came to me and told me what she knew about the rape. I confronted my 15 year old and she completely denied it. I subsequently (because of her what seemed to be over reaction )took her to the doctor on the ship and asked for a medical examination to help me to get to the truth of the matter. They would not examin my daughter. I went everyday for three days to ask them to examin my daughter but they refused telling me that I was traumatizing my daughter.
Three years later, with more maturity my daughter has now been able to tell me the truth and the whole story. She fell asleep on the bed watching the video. The next thing she knew there was a man on top of her which she first thought was the girls dad. She loudly said that she needed to go, that she needed to get up but he put his hands over her mouth to muffle her shouts and forced himself on her. It turned out to be the girls 30 year old brother.
My daughter was subsequently very confused and afraid and believed that it was her fault and that she had somehow caused it to happen. She never told me because she did not want me "to tell the whole world" and she felt it was her fault. Since that time, my daughter had emotionally distanced herself from me, rarely talking to me. This experience has been tremendously damaging to my daughter as well as to our relationship.
Cruise Ship Sexual Assault
Sexual Assault - April 6, 2003
Carnival Cruise Lines
