5. Sexual Abuse Was Rampant
One of the most harrowing truths is the widespread sexual exploitation of enslaved women and girls. Even “kind” owners were often complicit—or direct perpetrators—of these horrific abuses, which were treated as an open secret on plantations. Such crimes were almost never acknowledged publicly, and perpetrators faced little to no consequences. As History explains, sexual violence was a brutal pillar of the slave system, shattering countless lives in silence.
