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LEHI — The numbers are staggering: 1 in 4 girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Here in Utah, The Younique Foundation is committed to addressing the issue through a new effort to help adult survivors of childhood trauma.
After decades of repressing painful memories, Clarissa Carpenter is fighting back from the abuse she suffered starting in the first grade.
"It's OK not to feel stuck anymore, and I'm worthy. I'm worthy of healing," she said. "And I'm allowed to do that for myself."
The Younique Foundation is helping in that process by hosting retreats where women like Carpenter are not pitied as victims but celebrated as survivors.
"Just the word survivor is so empowering. It's so validating to say: 'You survived something that was horrible. That is so amazing of you,'" said Shelaine Maxfield, Younique's president and chairwoman.
Maxfield and her husband, Derek, set up the foundation to fill a void in services for adult survivors of this childhood trauma.
"It affects 20 percent of our population," Maxfield said. "And there aren't a lot of resources for those who survive the abuse."
Gordon Bruin, director of clinical services for The Younique Foundation, and his staff teach women how to break free from what he calls their "frozen pasts."
"What happens in trauma, especially childhood sexual trauma, is that it does a number on the developing brain and body," he said.
Bruin said the process of breaking free helps survivors "feel the strength and courage within themselves to move forward."
Carpenter has experienced the difference.
"Once I had that educational component, that's when I was able to take a big leap forward in my healing," she said.
There is also a symbolic side to the experience at Younique's Haven Retreat, like the breaking and mending of Japanese Kintsugi bowls.
Just the word survivor is so empowering. It's so validating to say you survived something that was horrible. That is so amazing of you.
–Shelaine Maxfield, The Younique Foundation
"In the end, you have this beautiful thing that reminds you that you can be strong in those broken places," Carpenter said.
Bruin is amazed at the progress made by those attending the retreats.
"I love to see the change that happens in these women," he said.
The Younique Foundation hosts the retreats for free. The women only pay their way to and from Utah. Maxfield and her husband said they have already hosted hundreds of survivors from around the world.
"It has awakened in me a purpose that I didn't know I had, and I am so thankful for this opportunity to help other people," Maxfield said.
It's also given survivors peace and a purpose in life.
"We can remove that stigma surrounding survivors of abuse and we can start those dialogues and by talking about it, hopefully, we can save children from having that same fate," Carpenter said.
If you or someone you know would like to attend one of the retreats, you can request an application at The Younique Foundation's website.
