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 Oscars experienceOscar was isolated in a boarding school with violent and sadistic teachers
Oscar’s parents were both in public service and were posted to different locations, sometimes overseas.
His education was paid for by the state and when he was seven years old, he attended a prep school as a boarder, where he suffered physical and sexual abuse.
read full account of Jordis experienceIn the children’s home, Jordi dreaded the car arriving that belonged to the man who abused him
Jordi is currently serving a prison sentence.
He says that during lockdown he has had even more time to think, and this has compounded the impact of being sexually abused as a child.
read full account of Dales experienceDale says ‘I don't understand how the care home let it happen’
Dale suffered violent abuse from his mother on a daily basis. A male neighbour took advantage of his vulnerability and sexually abused him. Dale describes how, when he was about 12 years old, his neighbour Don took him ‘under his wing’.
One day, Dale’s mother assaulted him so severely that his skull was fractured. After this, he was taken into care, but this did not protect him from the sexual predator.
read full account of Dwaynes experienceChurch officials tried to persuade Dwayne to withdraw his statement about abuse by a clergyman
The reverend who sexually abused Dwayne had recently arrived at his local parish church from a cathedral.
Dwayne later wondered if this transfer was part of a cover-up.
read full account of Kaylas experienceKayla says ‘Being abused doesn’t end when the abuse stops, and I think that’s the worst part’
Memories of the sexual abuse she was subjected to from the age of 12 are frequently triggered for Kayla.
She is having therapy to help her process what happened to her, but says this can be emotionally exhausting.
read full account of Junes experienceJune wants her parents to tell her the abuse she suffered was not her fault
June describes her family as authoritarian, with children expected to do as adults said. When she was sexually abused by a relative, she was not believed.
The abuse established a pattern of suffering, chaos and further abuse in her life that continues to affect her.
read full account of Hemas experienceHema says religious leaders in her community ‘are like gods’, but one of them sexually abused her
Religious leaders in the Sikh temple Hema’s family attended were revered by the community, and this made it impossible for her to tell her family that one of the religious leaders was sexually abusing her.
Hema explains that her parents would sometimes leave her and her sibling in the care of religious leaders at their temple. One of these men would offer Hema sweets, and ask her to hug him in return. She was six or seven years old when this began, and she remembers that the ‘hugs’ seemed to last longer and longer, and feel quite forceful.
read full account of Michaels experienceMichael talked at the Truth Project for the first time about being sexually abused
Michael says that when he heard about the Truth Project it reminded him of Archbishop Desmond Tutu encouraging the public hearings of human rights abuses in post-apartheid Africa.
He believes it is invaluable for people to be able to speak out about the past, and he thinks it would be wrong of him, as a victim and survivor of sexual abuse, not to share his experience. He hopes he can better inform people and help protect children in the future.
read full account of Lyndas experienceOn reporting her abuse to the police, Lynda says ‘I went in a survivor and left feeling like a victim’
Lynda was fostered, along with her sister, when she was a toddler. After a series of placements, the girls were permanently placed with a couple who had their own child and another young boy who was also fostered.
By this time Lynda was four and her sister a few years older. Lynda remembers there was ‘no love in that house whatsoever’ and describes her foster father, Robert, as ‘not a very nice person’.
read full account of Effies experienceEffie believes changes are needed to the way police investigate cases of sexual abuse
Effie says the police investigation into the man who sexually abused her was severely flawed.
She is still trying to come to terms with the fact that the perpetrator was found not guilty.
read full account of Anthonys experienceOn Anthony’s first day at grammar school he was singled out for grooming by a teacher
Anthony was looking forward to starting secondary education. He was the first person in his family to go to grammar school. He describes himself at that age as ‘fairly shy’ and someone who felt more comfortable with adults than his own peer group.
On his first day, the form tutor, Mr L, put Anthony on a desk at the front of the class and made him form captain. Anthony says he felt uncomfortable about this at the time, and looking back, he can see what a deliberate action it was.
read full account of Elis experienceEli felt lonely, and was drawn to online chat rooms where he encountered several abusers
Eli was a shy child and he found it easier to communicate with people online.
This led to him being sexually abused, with one perpetrator attempting to lure him to a face-to-face meeting.