It is African to share your home, but watch out for predators...

A young girl hugs her dad as he leaves.[Getty Images]

To an observer, she was a picture of bravado and unflappable confidence, a demeanor further cemented by her ample 5’8 frame. But deep inside, churned emotions so volatile, that they threatened to overwhelm her. She was Queen Latifah to the world, a badass rapper and a superstar if ever there was one. However, deep within she was still a 14-year old scared teen. The only outward sign of her inner turmoil could be heard through her lyrics by a keen ear. Due to sexual abuse wrought on her by a man who had lived in their home; a man supposed to watch and care for her, she had learnt not to expose to the world her soft under-belly. Being vulnerable was a recipe for trouble, she had learnt, and she was bent on never being anyone’s victim again. “I never told anybody; I just buried it as deeply as I could and kept people at an arm’s distance. I never really let a person get too close to me. I could have been married years ago, but I had a commitment issue,” she said in a 2009 interview. Until the public admission, her mother had been oblivious to it all.