These are some of the experiences of child sexual abuse shared with the Truth Project by victims and survivors. All names and identifying details have been changed.
Download a PDF sample of accountsread full account of Geds experienceA Scout leader groomed Ged’s parents to gain access to their son
Soon after Ged joined the Cub Scouts, the leader began encouraging his parents to go out while he babysat.
The leader used his position of trust to sexually abuse Ged.
read full account of Deniss experienceDenis says ‘You never know how you’re going to be triggered’
Denis was quite young when one of his parents died, and not long after he was sent away to boarding school.
Over fifty years on, he is still traumatised by his experiences at boarding school.
read full account of Reginalds experienceReginald feels he was let down by all the people he should have been able to rely on
Reginald had a very unhappy upbringing and his parents divorced.
He started spending time with a Catholic priest, who groomed him and sexually abused him.
read full account of Mary-Beths experienceMary-Beth says that sexual abuse can be an issue connected with gang culture
Mary-Beth lived on an urban estate where people knew each other and children played together outside.
But this close community was marred by the presence of an older male teenager who intimidated and threatened the younger children, and sexually abused Mary-Beth and possibly others.
read full account of Claudines experienceClaudine’s father used threats and manipulation to commit extreme sexual abuse on his young daughter
Claudine’s mother had a serious physical disability. When she was in her mid teens, she was befriended by a man much older than her. She had children with him, one of whom was Claudine.
Claudine was subjected to brutal abuse by her father over many years, but when she reported it to the police she was told that she might experience worse if she went into care.
read full account of Antonis experienceAntoni says that abuse in the church is ‘heard about often … and the church didn't do anything’
Antoni grew up in poverty and was bullied at school. He was groomed and sexually abused by a Methodist priest, who pretended the abuse was a religious rite.
Antoni grew up in a large family living in a poor area. His parents had separated because his father had been violent to his mother, and he says she ‘worked long hours to put a roof over our heads and food on the table’.
read full account of Chads experienceWhen Chad reported being sexually abused, a police officer said ‘it was a long time ago’
As an adult, Chad tried to report being sexually abused at boarding school, but the police said they could find no record of the place.
He feels disappointed and let down by the way they responded.
read full account of Victorias experienceVictoria was abused by her uncle, but still saw her role as protecting her vulnerable mother
Victoria was in her 30s when her memories surfaced of the sexual abuse she was subjected to as child. The trigger for this was being told by her mother that her uncle had been charged with child sexual abuse.
Previously, she says her only recollection of childhood had been a vision of complete darkness and a large man’s hand. On hearing the news about her uncle, she began to experience flashbacks, seeing clear images of herself in a church and reliving the experience of being sexually abused.
read full account of Briars experienceIt meant a lot to Briar that a counsellor thanked her for helping prosecute a sexual abuser
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.
read full account of Pamelas experienceDiscovering that her young daughter had been sexually abused triggered Pamela’s own memories of abuse
Pamela describes her horror when she discovered that her young child was being sexually abused by an organised group. This revelation, devastating in itself, also triggered a flood of dreadful memories and nightmares for Pamela.
Her early life was loveless and defined by brutality and neglect. As a baby she was placed in a residential nursery, after the death of her mother. She later lived with her step family as a young child until her early teenage years. She remembers beatings, starvation and neglect, and how unhappy she was.
read full account of Indiras experienceIndira told the police her stepfather was abusing her, but they believed his excuses and sent him home
Indira showed physical signs that she was being sexually abused, and gave a statement to the police.
But no one in authority took her seriously, and her stepfather was able to continue abusing her.
read full account of Ashleys experienceAshley says ‘If I was asked, I would have said, and it would have stopped’ – but nobody bothered to ask
Ashley was a young teenager when he began to knock on neighbours’ doors seeking to earn money by doing odd jobs. One neighbour, Malcolm, paid him well for some gardening and asked him to come back. When Ashley returned, Malcolm took him inside the house and sexually abused him.
The abuse has had far-reaching effects on his life, including the breakdown of his relationships with his children, which he deeply regrets.