Recently while reading the news, I observed that sexual abuse victims from the Boston area had received millions of dollars to split among hundreds of persons. What hell those young persons must have gone through at the hands of adults in the Church. What terrible pain they likely have carried into adulthood and will always live with.

Regrettably, those persons were not alone. There are others. Knowing this, I then turned my thoughts to transgender persons. This includes the youth of today and persons from earlier generations. Emotional, physical and sexual abuse has occurred and still abounds. There is rarely restitution for transgender persons - in fact for some the abuse continues through the course of their lives.

In preparation for this article I did an informal survey of transgender counseling clients within my practice. Approximately one of every four persons experienced some type of marked physical or sexual abuse prior to puberty. Often the preceding continued for persons who were teens or young adults, particularly the homeless. In review of a study I am investigating that documents conditions within prisons and mental institutions for transgender persons, approximately 85% of transpersons experience rape and assault while confined.

Those are not very comforting approximations. To many these represent very real and terribly painful circumstances. Yet, there is hope. Like the child sexual assault victims in Boston, transgender persons have the ability to find safety. Persons in the outside community can mature - find a protective environment and healthy relationships. In prisons, this process can also occur although it takes longer.

Perhaps the most egregious damage that occurs to people, after sexual abuse occurs, is that the wounds that are inflicted run so deep. It may take many years, if ever, for those to be identified and healed. Meanwhile, the person is left with damage that affects large expanses of his or her life. This includes relationships, sense of self worth and critical social functions.

Left unresolved these damages do not simply fade away with time, rather they linger in the human psyche and seek resolution and healing. But, often the person will not know how this is done, and gradually self-destructive coping mechanisms and unhealthy relationships become prominent in the person's life. Being aware of this process can help people avoid it.

There often is no financial payment that can heal abuses. An apology can help to some degree. Putting the perpetrator in prison may help, particular if he or she has a continued ability to hurt others. But, often it is the working through the actual abuse experience which brings the most healing.

The first step toward beginning the healing process is too find safety. It may mean moving to another town, or finding some way not to have regular contact with the person who did the hurting. A confined person can repeatedly ask to be transferred to another unit or facility. A third party may be able to help identify a safety plan.

Once safety is found it then becomes important to build a support network of persons who can be trusted to not disclose the situation to others. If a therapist or counselor is not possible, a support team can include a physician, nurse, minister or even a reliable friend. If you are uncertain whether the person can hold confidences, ask before disclosing. Being able to trust allows a person to tell, and telling in many respects initiates healing. No one should have to carry such pain around alone.

A person will know when he or she has made important headway into dealing with these issues, when there is a sense things are improvable or will be okay. And, one can sense that he or she is a survivor - someone bigger and stronger than the hurt that was done. There is not a lot of information in this world that helps transgender men and women identity as healthy, empowered persons. But, these things are a possible and worthy goal. You can find safety, healing and regain a sense of self.