The Christmas I nearly got raped

Dear Pastor,

I am a 17-year-old girl. This Christmas reminds me of what happen to me when I was 15 years old. Some of my friends were going to a party and they invited me to go along with them. My mother is a higgler and was working in downtown Kingston. My older brother went out with his friends. I knew that my mother would not be home early, and there was a high probability that she wouldn't come home for the entire night, because she was hustling to give us a good Christmas.

I went out with my friends. I never drank before, but they were drinking and encourage me to drink with them. I was dancing up with the boys and one of them pushed a beer bottle into my mouth and I drank some of it. The music also got to my head.

My friends were also smoking and blowing into my face. At one time I did not know what was going on; all I can remember is that I could not control myself. I had on tight shorts. One of the girls, who was older than me, saw what was going on when a guy was pulling me to go outside. She stepped in and asked him why he was pulling me to go outside. He told her to get out of our business, and she said no because they brought me there to the party.

She told me they almost had a fight because she knew he was taking me somewhere to have sex with me, and she couldn't allow that to happen because I was not myself. I consider her my real friend. It was the first time I smoked weed and drank liquor. Nothing really happened to me sexually, but if this girl did not step in and prevent the man from pulling me outside, I could have been abused that night.

When I was taken home by my friends, I was stone drunk. My brother was not there and my mother had not come home as yet. When she got home, she was not even aware that I was out. So this Christmas reminds me how silly I was, and I would like to warn parents with young daughters not to leave their daughters alone around Christmas time, because they could be abused.

I do not have a boyfriend at present. I am still in school. I am hoping to join my father in the United States of America. I would like to become a medical doctor. I attend church regularly and I am trying to keep out of trouble. My mother is continuing to hustle downtown, but I told her that she should not stay out all night. I am the only child of my father and he is supporting me. He got married in the USA. His wife has children, but not by him.

I have not gone back to any party since the incident, and I do not smoke the weed. Smoking the weed is not for me.

V.P

Dear V.P.,

I am glad you were spared from sexual abuse when you attended a party and got involved in smoking and drinking. I am also happy that one of your friends prevented a man from trying to take you out of the building. She saw what happened, and that you became high on the weed and on the alcohol. You should always be grateful to her for helping you.

Your mother was trying to hustle money to give your brother and yourself a good Christmas. She meant well, but she left you unsupervised. You did not know that you should not have gone to the party without advising your mother. Sometimes a girl, even when she is 15 years old, needs supervision.

I am happy to know that your father is supporting you. I hope that it would be possible for you to go abroad and study. Be very careful what you do, and may the new year bring you much joy and happiness. I wish you well.

Pastor