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 Deshawns experienceDeshawn did not see sexual abuse as ‘terrible’ because he was so used to violent abuse
Deshawn grew up in a children’s home run by Christian missionaries. He was sexually abused by a male member of staff. The man who sexually abused Deshawn was not violent.
He didn’t know his father, and only saw his mother a couple of times a year when she visited from the West Indies.
read full account of Eloises experienceEloise is angry that her family’s home life was disrupted because she was the victim of sexual abuse
Eloise lived with her family in a block of flats in a large city.
They liked their neighbourhood, but after a neighbour sexually abused her, she and her family had to leave their home.
read full account of Eileens experienceEileen cannot recall any happy memories from her childhood
Eileen and her sister were subjected to sexual abuse from her brothers and father, who was also a heavy drinker with a violent temper that he took out on all the children and his wife.
This abuse began when Eileen was six or seven years old and continued until she was 15 or 16, when both brothers were married and left home.
read full account of Brittanys experienceIn the two places that Brittany should have been able to call home, she was sexually abused
Brittany’s parents were separated. During her chaotic childhood she mainly lived with her mum, who had different partners, and sometimes with her dad.
But she was not safe in either place. Both the father figures in her life sexually abused her.
read full account of Kias experienceKia endured 12 years of brutal sexual abuse by her father
Kia is trying to overcome feeling responsible for having been abused. She feels she was let down by a number of professionals, including school and healthcare staff.
Kia’s father began abusing her when she was about five years old. He told her it was punishment for bad behaviour and over time, she realised that he seemed to prefer it if she was emotional when he abused her.
read full account of Stellas experienceStella says ‘It affects how you are if you are treated badly when young and people take advantage of that’
Stella says she loved and admired her mother but describes her as emotionally unstable. She was a difficult parent who referred to her daughter as ‘unexpected – a little mistake’.
Her lack of confidence because of her treatment at home, and her politeness, made her vulnerable to abuse.
read full account of Alessias experienceAlessia says ‘I carry the pain of my abuse but no longer the shame’
Alessia told her mother and a teacher at school that she had been sexually abused, but neither of them helped her.
After years of suffering with the impacts of abuse, and anger towards her mother, Alessia feels she has reached a stage where it no longer defines her.
read full account of Prims experiencePrim says ‘The only time he was ever kind to me was when he was sexually abusing me’
Prim writes a harrowing account of extreme cruelty and abuse that she endured for years at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend.
She was too terrified to tell anyone, but there were many clear indicators of abuse that were overlooked by professionals who regularly saw her and the family.
read full account of Kierans experienceKieran believes that police forces should be better trained to deal with non-recent sexual abuse cases
Kieran has early memories of a good family life, but after the death of his father he endured abuse and violence.
A few years after Kieran’s father died, his mother met a new partner who moved into the family home with his two sons, Lewis and Carl. They were in their late teens and had been in trouble with the authorities.
read full account of Irenes experienceIrene says she felt safer in children’s homes than with her own family
Irene’s childhood memories are of extreme poverty, chaos, neglect and abuse. She has learned most of what she now knows about herself by accessing her care records.
She has had extensive therapy which has helped her understand more about her past and herself, but she says the effects of the abuse still haunt her and have ‘affected every part of my life’.
read full account of Lindas experienceLinda says ‘Survivors must not carry the shame of their perpetrators, or those that know but do not act’
Linda describes her abuser as the ‘classic groomer; charming and intelligent’. Because she was very unhappy at home, she was particularly vulnerable to his abuse. She says ‘I thought he was my best friend’.
Mr Bradley was a teacher in Linda’s secondary school. He kept animals and she and many other girls in her class would help to look after them.
read full account of Belindas experienceBelinda didn’t realise her abuser’s behaviour was wrong at the time; she still blames herself
Belinda was in her early teens when she met Chris, who was in his 20s. He would hang around on the route she walked each day and chat with her.
What seemed to her at first to be welcome attention was in fact grooming for sexual abuse and exploitation.