Nobody believed Leanne the first time she was abused, and this made it hard to report subsequent abuse
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Leanne has been sexually abused by three different males. She had mixed experiences dealing with the police.
Leanne and her brothers were brought up by her mother – their father was not in their lives. The first person who abused Leanne was her older brother, who started coming into her bedroom and touching her when she was in her early teens.
She told her mother what he was doing, but her mother simply told Leanne she should ‘kick him out’ of her room if she didn’t want him in there. Because she was younger she wasn’t able to do this, but the abuse stopped soon after – she thinks possibly because her brother found a girlfriend.
A couple of years later, Leanne was sexually abused by the stepfather of one of her friends, Stan, when she visited her friend’s home. At first she liked Stan; he was ‘very friendly’ and she didn’t mind hugging him. But a few times he started stroking her in a way that made her uncomfortable.
She did not tell anyone because of the way her mother had responded about the previous abuse.
When she was a couple of years older, Leanne worked in a shop run by a family. One day when the family went away, they arranged for a friend, Mr A, to manage the shop. He followed Leanne into the store room and began touching her.
She managed to get away and run out of the room, but felt she had to stay at work, so she carried on filling shelves until the end of the day. A few days later, she confided in her other brother what had happened, and he persuaded her to say something about it.
Her mother called the police and Leanne gave a statement. Initially the police seemed sensitive and interested, but later said they thought that her decision to stay working in the shop after the assault was not consistent with someone who had been abused. Leanne felt they did not believe her and no action was ever taken against Mr A.
Recently, the police contacted Leanne again about Stan, because other people had come forward to report abuse by him. She gave a statement and says they were supportive and sensitive before, during and after the trial.
Stan was convicted of sexual assaults against several girls. The only criticism she has is that neither the police nor the witness advice service she was referred to told her she could make a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
Leanne has self-harmed, and still feels a lack of trust in authority, and a fear of men, especially those who remind her of her abusers.
She says it is essential for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to be treated with care and sensitivity by the police, and be given good support and information.