Autumn feels she was left to deal by herself with the effects of being sexually abused
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Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Autumn was a talented sports competitor.
She was sexually abused by her coach and was left with virtually no support to deal with the impact of the abuse and the aftermath of the court case.
When Autumn was about 11 years old, she began working with a new coach, Mr A. Before long, he introduced her to his family, and he met hers.
By the time she was in her early teens, Autumn says that the coach had begun to make comments to her that seemed to be ‘crossing the line from humorous and friendly’.
She explains that he had keys to some of the rooms at the sports venue where she practised, and he started taking her into them, telling her he wanted to kiss her. The abuse escalated with Mr A removing Autumn’s clothes and touching her.
Autumn describes how very uncomfortable she felt about what was happening, and the text messages Mr A was sending her. She had met his family and felt it was wrong. She told her mother and showed her the texts. The next day her mother reported Mr A to the venue manager. Mr A was suspended from his job and the manager contacted the police.
Mr A left the area and moved his family away. As a police investigation was underway, Autumn was told not to discuss it with anyone. She says it was very awkward for her. The venue manager told the other coaches what had happened, and even suggested that none of the male coaches should work with Autumn.
To add to her discomfort, there were lots of rumours circulating about why Mr A had left the area, and it wasn’t long before people at her school also became aware of what had happened.
In the run up to the court case, she says the police mostly spoke to her mother. It felt to her that she was treated more like a witness than a victim, and she wasn’t sure she could face appearing in court.
In the end, Mr A pleaded guilty at the trial and was given a prison sentence.
Autumn feels that the prosecution counsel did not take the time to explain the court process to her and ‘didn’t seem interested’. She was not given any help with her impact statement and she feels the impact of the abuse on her was not fully appreciated.
Afterwards, she was not offered any support or counselling, and she says she felt she had caused a lot of problems for her family.
Autumn did see a school counsellor, but she was distressed by a comment the counsellor made that Autumn must have worn a very short skirt when she was playing sport. She felt this implied it was her fault she was sexually abused and did not want to see the counsellor again.
Autumn has suffered from depression and has self-harmed. She did seek more counselling and went to university, where she has made a lot of effort to deal with the consequences of the abuse.
She says she would like to see things improved for other victims and survivors who might suffer as she did. She thinks there should be more support for victims during investigations and trials, and better communication and explanations of processes.
Autumn also feels that the sports governing body could have made a statement that would have helped stop the rumours and given her some support. She believes she would have benefitted from a ‘guardian’ who could have spoken on her behalf.