It meant a lot to Briar that a counsellor thanked her for helping prosecute a sexual abuser
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Briar was sexually abused by two of her mother’s partners.
One of them was finally convicted after years of inaction by the authorities and delays in the case, which added to the impact of the abuse for Briar.
As a young child Briar spent a brief period in foster care, before being returned to her mother and her stepfather. This man sexually abused Briar.
Later, her mother and stepfather’s relationship broke up, and Briar’s mother found a new partner called Billy. Shortly after Billy came to live with them, Briar’s brother revealed that his first stepfather had sexually abused him too. Billy encouraged her mother to report the abuse Briar suffered by her stepfather, and the abuser was successfully prosecuted.
However, Briar was still not safe in her own home. When she was about nine years old, Billy began to sexually abuse her. This continued to happen regularly for six years.
Briar recalls that during this time, a senior teacher at her school commented that she looked very tired, and asked about her home life, but she was too scared to say what was happening to her.
She later found out that a family friend had also been concerned about her, and had contacted social services. The friend said that as far as they knew, their report was not acted on.
Briar suffered with depression for years, and when she was in her early 20s, she had counselling and support from her doctor. This gave her the strength to report Billy to the police. They investigated him, but did not prosecute. Briar believes he told the police that she was unbalanced, and was blaming him for the abuse she had suffered previously by her first stepfather.
A few years ago, following conversations with family members and friends, Briar decided to make another report to the police about Billy. She says it took a long time for them to retrieve information about the previous investigation, but this time, the prosecution went ahead.
After a series of delays and cancellations, Billy was finally convicted and given a prison sentence.
Briar found the lengthy process very difficult. She received support and counselling from the witness protection scheme, which she says was helpful and should be available to all victims and survivors.
She feels very strongly that the courts need to consider the effect that cancellations of hearings have on the victims, survivors and witnesses. She thinks there should be better communication about delays. She believes the support provided by the witness protection scheme was important in helping her through the process and this needs to be made available to all victims and survivors.
Briar still has counselling. Despite her experiences she has raised two ‘magnificent’ children.