©️ By – Sophie Lewis

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You think it’s over when the message stops.
When the man disappears.
When the damage is done.

But that’s when it really begins—the unraveling.
Of girls. Of minds. Of lives.

Because this isn’t just about predators.
It’s about the girls they chewed up and spat out—and the world that let them rot.

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We Were Everywhere – And No One Cared

You want to know who they targeted?

We were the girls with no backup.
No safety net. No reputation to protect.
Some from abusive homes.
Some just different. Neurodivergent. Sensitive. Quiet. Missed.

We weren’t all the same—but we were all reachable.

Some of us were loud and wild.
Some of us masked everything.
Some of us just wanted to feel seen.

And predators?
They didn’t care what our reasons were.
They just cared that the door was open.

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I Saw What It Did to Them

Some of the girls I knew?
They vanished.
Not literally—but who they were disappeared.

One minute they were laughing, dancing, dreaming.
The next, they were gone.

Fucked up on pills.
Spiralling in chaos.
Sleeping with men ten, twenty years older like it was nothing.

Because it was normal.
Because that’s what we were taught—attention equals worth.

Some never came back from it.
Some got stuck in a loop of strange men, addiction, self-hate.
Some disappeared into towns no one remembered.

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We Were Labelled – Never Helped

We were never protected.
We were never asked, “What happened to you?”

Instead, we were labelled.
“Slag.”
“Slut.”
“She’s easy.”
“She’s asking for it.”

They didn’t even try to hide the judgment.
We were broken and bleeding, and they treated us like we wanted it.

Because if they admitted we were victims, they’d have to admit someone hurt us.
And no one wanted that truth.

So they buried it.
And us.

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We Didn’t Talk About It – We Were Living It

People ask why we didn’t say anything.
Why we didn’t speak out.
Why we let it happen.

But we weren’t “letting” anything.
We were just trying to survive.

There were no words.
Just this heavy, sick feeling that never left.

We didn’t confide in each other.
We didn’t warn each other.
We didn’t even know how.

Because we were all in it.
Caught in the same cycle.
Normalising the same madness.
Breaking silently in the same ways.

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There’s One I’ll Never Forget

There’s always one.
The girl you think about years later.
The one you knew something wasn’t right with.

You saw her face change.
Her body shrink.
Her light go out.

And you didn’t say anything.
You couldn’t.

You carried it. For years.

I did.

But I don’t carry the shame anymore.
Because it was never our fault.
Not hers. Not mine.
Not yours.

We were kids inside a system built to fail us.
And we learned silence because silence kept us safe.

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Some Never Spoke. Some Still Can’t.

Some of those girls?
Still carrying it.
Still silent.

They’ve built entire lives on top of trauma no one ever acknowledged.

Others?
They tried to speak.
They got shut down, blamed, laughed at.

Because society doesn’t want to believe that many girls were preyed on.
Because if they did, they’d have to look at themselves.

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This Is for Them

This is for every girl who was called a liar.
Every girl who was sexualised and shamed instead of protected.
Every girl who was left to pick up her own pieces.

This is for the ones who didn’t make it out.
The ones who became a cautionary tale.
The ones who disappeared and were never searched for.

This is for the girls I watched fall apart while everyone turned away.

And it’s for the girls still out there—being targeted right now.

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If You’re One of Us – Speak

I’m collecting stories from adults (18+ only) who experienced grooming—online or offline—during the early internet era.

Because your story deserves to be heard.
Because the silence ends here.

Submit your experience here (anonymous & safe): Anonymous Google Form

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Next: “Why Do They Keep Getting Away With It?”

Because it’s not just the predators.
It’s the teachers, the social workers, the neighbours, the police—the entire system that looks the other way.

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