Episode 144: Mary Byler - From Amish Survivor to Army Thriver

Mary grew up in an Amish home where she was serially molested from the age of 4 or 5 by her father and brothers. She repeatedly told her mom, who blamed the abuse on Mary, saying, "If only you prayed more these bad things wouldn't happen to you." Amish victims are taught to forgive their abuser and to not question any man who holds authority over them. It is against their custom to report abuse to the police. Instead, if abusers are indeed caught and found to be guilty, they are shunned for six weeks before being fully restored to their church and community, no questions asked. Sexual abuse and violence are incredibly common among Amish communities because of this toxic environment, making it nearly impossible for victims to ever escape their abuse. After suffering years of horrific abuse, Mary was finally rescued and was given the opportunity most Amish victims will never receive--reporting to the police. A couple of Mary's abusers received a light sentence but have since been fully restored back to the Amish community with unlimited access to children. In this episode, Mary courageously shares her story, along with invaluable tips when interacting with survivors of sexual abuse. Mary's story can be found here:https://www.kltv.com/story/2466831/amish-community-shocked-by-one-families-secrets/Intro-- Film Glitch by Snowflake (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/56350 Ft: reusenoiseOutro-- I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/41284