Cubin-American singer, Gloria Estefan has bravely revealed that she had been sexually abused in her music school at just 9-years-old. During Thursday’s episode of Facebook Watch show, Red Table Talk, 64-year-old Estefan speaks publicly about the abuse for the first time.
“93% of abused children know and trust their abusers. And I know this because I was one of them,” she said. “I wanted to deal with this subject matter because it is so important to try to prevent. I also did not want to sit here quietly while you share and are brave.”
Estefan explains that her abuser was a “respected member of the community” and was a trusted associate of her family.
“He was family, but not close family. He was in a position of power because my mother had put me in his music school and he immediately started telling her how talented I was and how I needed special attention, and she felt lucky that he was focusing this kind of attention on me.”
Opening up on the matter with her co-hosting daughter and niece, Emily and Lili, Estefan highlighted the chances of one’s abuser being someone close to them.
“It starts little by little and then it goes fast. I knew that this was a dangerous situation and when I revolted and told him this cannot happen and you cannot do this, he said your father is in Vietnam, your mother is alone. I will kill her if you tell her.”
Gloria told of how her mother had been advised by police to not press charges as the young singer could suffer trauma when testifying. The singer, who moved as a child from Cuba to Miami, opened up alongside Claire Crawley, the first Latina Bachelorette. During the Facebook stream, Crawley revealed how she was abused by a priest as a child. Although her parents went on to sue the church, Crawley said it “essentially said we will do whatever it takes to keep this quiet”, before moving him from one parish to another, repeating his offences with more children.
