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 Jeramiahs experienceJeramiah says ‘I’ve only known one thing, and that’s how to survive’
Jeramiah describes a childhood of deprivation, neglect, sexual abuse and physical and psychological abuse from his mother.
He felt relieved when he was taken into care, but unsupervised visits from his mother allowed her to continue abusing him in a way that had damaging and lasting consequences on his life.
read full account of Sarafinas experienceSarafina suffered neglect and physical abuse in her family home, and she was placed in care when she was 11
Sarafina describes a succession of very unhappy and unsuitable foster placements, with people who had no interest in her.
At the age of 12, Sarafina had been placed with an elderly couple. They went to stay on a caravan park at weekends, and here she met a man called Tom, who was in his 60s. She says he ‘tricked’ her into meeting him, took her to a forest, and plied her with alcohol.
read full account of Jack-Bobs experienceWhen Jack-Bob asked years later if he should report the abuse, a teacher replied ‘What’s the point?’
Jack-Bob was a boarder at a school in England in the 1970s. He was subjected to a ‘sophisticated grooming process’ by his abuser, who was a teacher at the school.
He says he looked mature for his age and believes that may be why his abuser targeted him. The grooming went on for about three years before the abuse began and involved exposure to magazines and books with a sexual content. The abuser would leave this sort of material in classrooms. The magazines could not necessarily be considered ‘top shelf’ but they were certainly not meant to be seen by children. One of the books had explicit pictures and his abuser would leave them in classrooms that were accessible by pupils.
read full account of Dylan s experienceDylan lost his faith when he was sexually abused by a curate, who was protected by the church
Dylan grew up in a family of active church members. But the sexual abuse he and others were subjected to by a curate and the inadequate response from the church have caused him extreme distress and turned him away from his religion.
The sexual abuse happened to Dylan when he was a boy. In his teenage years, he saw a news report about his abuser, Jacob, who had been convicted of an offence against another boy. This prompted Dylan to disclose his own abuse to his parents.
read full account of Malories experienceMalorie says ‘Sometimes I feel so angry; I just want an apology from the local authority’
Malorie spent her childhood and adolescence suffering abuse and neglect while she was under the care of a city local authority.
She says ‘I know it won’t happen, but I’d like them to acknowledge they could have done better’.
read full account of Blairs experienceBlair says that memories of sexual abuse ‘take up most of what my childhood was’
Blair was sexually abused by two perpetrators.
She was very young the first time she was abused but has pieced the story together from her memories, what her family has told her and police records.
read full account of Gregs experienceThe priest who abused Greg groomed his family first, and then fought the civil case he eventually brought
Greg came from a very ‘church going’ background. His family moved to a new house in a small town and became involved with the clergy at the church.
When a new priest, Ken, joined their church, Greg's parents took him under their wing. Ken was a regular visitor and often ate with the family.
read full account of Keylas experienceKeyla says hospital staff suggested she’d been sexually abused. ‘They wrote a letter, but nothing was done’
Keyla’s family were Catholics; they went to Mass twice on Sundays and sent the children to Catholic schools.
But behind the scenes, her father was a brutal and sadistic abuser, who made her pray for ‘forgiveness’ after he raped her.
read full account of Sheilas experienceSheila says schools should watch for children who are ‘making it their business to be invisible’
Sheila and her parents came to Britain as immigrants. For a few years they moved several times and Sheila was not always with her mother and father.
She loved horses, and after the family found a place to settle permanently, Sheila regularly went to ride at a local stables. The owner took advantage of her vulnerability and sexually abused her. She has kept this to herself for more than 50 years.
read full account of Leilas experienceBeing abused made Leila feel that sex was the only reason people would be interested in her
As a child Leila craved attention from her emotionally distant parents.
This made her vulnerable to sexual abuse by a teacher who made her feel ‘special’.
read full account of Brennans experienceThe clergyman who sexually abused Brennan left his teaching job, but was made a parish priest
Brennan was sexually abused by a Catholic priest who was a teacher at his primary school.
He says that even after 70 years ‘not a week goes by but that I don’t think of it’.
read full account of Sallys experienceThe man who raped Sally when she was a teenage girl continued to intimidate her with mockery
Sally was raped as a teenager and feels that a teacher in her school was complicit in this crime.
The rapist was a friend of the teacher, and also worked at the school. Sally says her abuser bought presents for her and the teacher encouraged her to meet him. At the time, she did not know about grooming.