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 Clintons experienceClinton says ‘Some of the abuse might have happened because of the lack of affection in my life’
Clinton was placed into care at an early age to protect him from cruelty.
He feels he was very vulnerable, and this led to him being abused as a child by more than one perpetrator.
read full account of Staceys experienceStacey was raped by her uncle. A judge branded her as ‘a scheming little Lolita’
Stacey describes her early childhood growing up in a family that was ‘wealthy and stable’. But their fortunes changed when she was six years old and her parents struggled to look after her and her siblings.
After a few years in care, Stacey and her siblings were fostered by her uncle. This man abused and raped her, resulting in her becoming pregnant.
read full account of Keiths experienceKeith lives with the pain of being sexually abused in a children’s home, made worse by not being believed
Keith was placed in a children’s home for three years during the 1970s. He experienced sexual, physical and emotional abuse from staff and other children residing at the home.
An older boy, Brian, sexually abused Keith on three occasions. Brian was also a minor and Keith suspected that he was in an inappropriate relationship with the adult house mother at the home.
read full account of Ailsas experienceAilsa feels let down by delays and bad communication by police investigating the abuse she suffered
When the man who sexually abused Ailsa left the country, the police said they had ‘flagged’ it and would know if he returned.
But it was only because Ailsa told them he was back that they resumed their investigation.
read full account of Lorelais experienceLorelai says that victim-blaming is why many people are reluctant to disclose sexual abuse
Lorelai was a young teenager when she was groomed and sexually abused by a man in his 30s.
Her mother, her counsellor, her church and the police all said, or strongly implied, that she was at least partly responsible for being raped.
read full account of Elodies experienceElodie would like to see help for care leavers and better recognition of gender and sexual identity issues
Elodie has had to deal with the complex challenge of being born intersex.
She believes this made her vulnerable to the sexual, physical and emotional abuse she suffered in her early life.
read full account of Mivann s experienceMivann says improvements to child protection may cost ‘but if children are unhappy it costs society later’
After his parents divorced Mivann went to live with relatives. But one of his guardians died, and other relatives in the house were abusing alcohol, so he was taken into care at the age of nine.
For five years he endured sexual abuse and extreme cruelty in two different children's homes.
read full account of Errols experienceAt first, the boarding school that Errol was sent to seemed a safer place than his home
Errol had behavioural problems and was sent to a residential school when he was 11 years old.
He was sexually abused by an older boy, and although school staff knew about this, they did nothing to protect him.
read full account of Jamess experienceJames describes frequent abuse by a teacher at his school, with other staff ignoring the problem
James endured repeated sexual abuse over several years by a teacher at his boarding school.
He firmly believes that children should not be sent away to school.
read full account of Zoeys experienceZoey says ‘You were told no one cared about you … you had no voice’
A family crisis disrupted Zoey’s happy childhood and she was placed in care.
A social worker sexually abused her and told her no one would believe her if she reported him.
read full account of Carolines experienceCaroline says ‘Sometimes I get angry ... why didn’t I do anything?’
Caroline was sexually abused by a senior teacher at her junior school.
She says she still feels troubled by the abuse and feelings that she should have tried to stop it.
read full account of Serens experienceSeren says ‘You can’t just allow children aged eight to 18 to get on with it and think it will be ok’
Seren was sent to a mixed-sex boarding school in the 1990s.
She was thrown into an environment where teachers turned a blind eye to inappropriate sexual relationships and she is still very distressed by her experiences.