For Anahila Cowherd

I was compelled to write this for Anahila Cowherd who was murdered by her grandfather after she revealed that he had been sexually abusing her.

“My name is Anahila Cowherd, 11 years old, 5^th grade, and I’m gonna bring justice to all girls who have been touched.”

                                                                       -Anahila Cowherd

Anahila Cowherd was a beautiful eleven-year-old fifth grade honor roll student at Aki Kurose Middle School in Seattle, Washington. Unfortunately, Anahila’s grandfather murdered Anahila and her mother on Monday, October 27, 2014. Anahila had a blog on Wattpad that detailed the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her grandfather, which approximately started when she was in the third grade.

 

Anahila told her mother about the sexual abuse. Her mother confronted her father and threatened to call the police if it continued. However, as detailed in Anahila’s blog, the sexual abuse did continue. It is suspected that Anahila’s grandfather killed Anahila and her mother before killing himself because he thought they were going to tell the police.

 

I have not read Anahila’s blog posts because, honestly, I don’t think I would recover if I did. The following quote: “My name is Anahila Cowherd, 11 years old, 5^th grade, and I’m gonna bring justice to all girls who have been touched.” was taken from an article I read. It is Anahila’s story and the aforementioned quote, showcasing her strength, determination, tenacity, and fight that compelled me to write this post. Anahila and I have something in common. She wanted to bring justice to all girls who had been touched, and one of the reasons why I wrote my novel, “To Coral Jean,” is to bring attention to the travesty of sexual abuse against children and give a voice to children like Anahila.

 

Anahila is no longer with us, and the only consolation I have regarding her death is that she is with God--engulfed in love, happy, at peace, and no longer in pain. However, Anahila’s death should not be in vain. The sexual abuse she endured and her untimely death should serve as a loud, blaring alarm to everyone who is a parent or caretaker of a child.

 

As a parent, guardian, or caretaker of children, it is your DUTY, OBLIGATION, and RESPONSIBILITY to protect them. They did not ask to be here so it is up to you to ensure their safety. Please, please, please (1) be careful of who you allow around your children, (2) talk to them about their bodies if they are of age, (3) tell them that NO ONE should EVER touch them inappropriately, (4) know what’s going on and be involved in your child’s life, (5) pay attention to any changes in your child’s mood or behavior, and (6) make sure they KNOW and UNDERSTAND that they can always come to you to talk about anything.

 

It is truly up to us: the parents, teachers, counselors, doctors--anyone who has contact with children, to watch for the signs of abuse so we can prevent tragedies like the sexual abuse and death of Anahila Cowherd from happening to another child.