What does a child do that makes a parent abuse them? Children are innocent. I was innocent. But it did not save me from insidious, perpetual abuse from my mother. I don't know where her conscience was. I don't know how she justified her repeated betrayal. It's like there was something missing in her. Or some evil had gotten hold of her. I pay every day for being her innocent victim. I have gotten on with my life, but it will never fully leave me.