Joyce Meyer has been rather open about her past of sexual abuse, but for the first time, she’s portraying it in its true light, according to an article by the Christian Post. “Sexual abuse is so shaming that nobody talks about it. Nobody knows how to talk about it,” she said.
In a transparent interview, Joyce Meyer shares the horrific history of abuse by her father
Though Joyce was abused until she was 18, she was terrified to reveal the secret to anyone for most of her childhood. Because of her father’s coercion and manipulation, a part of her believed it was her fault.
Even as Joyce started to open up about her dark past, she always referred to it as “sexual abuse”—but in a recent interview posted on her website this week, she admits that term is truly not enough anymore. It was rape.
“Literally, what he did was rape me, every week, at least once a week, until the time I was 18. My father, who I was supposed to be able to trust, who was supposed to keep me safe, raped me a minimum of 200 times,” she said.
“He didn’t force me physically, but through lies, and manipulation, and fears, and threats, I was still forced,” she added. “My father did rape me, numerous times, at least 200 times.”
Joyce never felt safe growing up, and her father would often ask her to take girls home from school so that he could rape them as well. She became pretty skilled in coming up with excuses for friends not to come over, but her attempts to protect the neighbor girl were not so successful.
