Can I call cps on my emotionally abusive mother? I'm 13.

[Guest]

A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with depression by a doctor- My mother seems to blame everything on me and calls me names. My mom is transphobic and homophobic and often rants about it and I can't confront her about it. She's taken away my phone and threatened to replace it with a flip phone. She's taken away all my coping mechanisms; Some video games (trying to convince my dad to delete the account i worked for 3 years on), My music, etc. She often invades my privacy and yells at me whenever I do something wrong. Whenever I cry, she makes comments to my dad who is trying to help me such as ''Let her cry, she knows what she did'' or to me ''If I were you, I wouldn't even be able to look at my parents''. I haven't felt hungry for the past few days and my dad had to convince me and almost force me to eat. So far my mom has only threatened to hit me with an electric fly swatter if I didn't keep my head up during class, but I'm afraid of what else she's going to do. I want to call cps on her but I don't want to lose my dad. I'm a 13 year old (closeted) trans male- so far only my cousins and friends know about it. I haven't told anyone about the conditions in my house because i'm afraid i'll be in trouble if my mom finds out. My brother (11) also calls me names and tells me to commit suicide. What can I do? I don't want to lose my dad because he's a good parent but I don't have any evidence on my mom and brother. If anything happens, please contact me at ***************** - its the only email i have that my parents don't know about.

[ccsmod15]

Thanks for reaching out to us at the National Runaway Safeline. You made a great first step to finding the help that you may need. It sounds like you are going through a lot and the people around you are not being supportive. You deserve to be treated with respect, to experience acceptance and to feel safe.

We want you to know that you are strong for having gone through so much already. It is perfectly okay to deviate from what others or the common population believe to be “normal”. You’re bravery and resilience is so admirable. You are so strong for having gone through so much without having the acceptance that you do deserve for just being you. Remember that you are not alone. If you ever want to talk more about what you are experiencing or get additional support we are here 24/7 at 1800-RUNAWAY or our live chat service. The GLBT National Hotline at 1888-843-4564 is another option to gain great support from those that are familiar with the issues and experiences of those that are also a part of the LGBTQ community. You can access their website link bellow to utilize all the other possibly useful resources they have to offer: http://www.glbthotline.org/

You mentioned that you were considering the options that may be best for you. By all means, if you do fear for your safety either now or in the future, do not hesitate to take the necessary steps to regain your safety. This may mean calling the authorities or possibly reporting the things you may be experiencing. Other options to think about may be other family members, friends, or a trusted adults that would be able to provide you with support or a safe place to stay. It is great that you thinking ahead. Should you feel like leaving home is best, it may be a good idea to think about how you will provide necessities for yourself such as food, clothing, showers, healthcare and other basic needs. You may want to also consider how your parent’s will react to you leaving without permission. We are not legal experts here, but typically as a minor (under the age of 1 you need permission from your parents to leave home. It is not illegal to runaway, but it would mean that your parents could file a runaway report with the police. This is usually done in an effort to try to return you home as the police are required to do so.

If you can give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY or reach out through Live Chat we can try to find some youth shelters that may be near your city and state by utilizing our database of resources. We can also try to call out to shelters with you or on your behalf to advocate for you.

Stay Strong,
NRS