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 Jaysons experienceJayson says ‘I always hope and pray all this trauma will go, but it just doesn’t’
Jayson was terrified of going to school, because he was being sexually abused by the caretaker.
He feels the abuse has affected every aspect of his life – from a lack of education, to the way he parents his own children and his continuing mental health issues.
read full account of Hugos experienceHugo says the man who abused him ‘used his position to mask the darker side of his personality’
Hugo was groomed and sexually abused as a teenager by a man who seemed respectable, cultured and well-connected.
‘In hindsight’, says Hugo, ‘he was always a predatory paedophile’.
read full account of Jamies experienceA strict religious community closed ranks to prevent Jamie from reporting the sexual abuse he suffered
Growing up in an extreme and highly controlling religious community, Jamie had no one to turn to about the abuse he suffered.
Jamie describes the culture of the community as very closed. All issues were expected to be dealt with within the community, which provided its own services including healthcare services, education and religious courts.
read full account of Ronnies experienceAbduction and abuse by a stranger made Ronnie vulnerable to further ill-treatment
As a young boy, Ronnie was kidnapped by a stranger who dragged him into a derelict building and abused him, then gave Ronnie money to buy sweets and left.
This incident sent Ronnie’s behaviour into a downward spiral. He began truanting committing petty crimes, which resulted in him being placed in a children’s custodial institution, where he remained for several years.
read full account of Bryces experienceBryce feels guilty that he was not ‘braver’ as a child when he was sexually abused by adults
From the age of 12 until he was in his mid teens, Bryce lived in children’s homes. He never experienced any love or compassion – only cruelty, humiliation, violence and sexual abuse that still cause him immense suffering.
He says ‘It’s been 42 years since I left there, and I can still remember everything as if it were yesterday’.
read full account of Tynnas experienceTynna is distressed by delays and errors in the case against the man who sexually abused her
The family member who sexually abused Tynna is being prosecuted.
However, she has concerns about some aspects of the way the police handled her case.
read full account of Ophelias experienceOphelia’s mother colluded in the sexual abuse of her daughter
Ophelia was sexually abused and made pregnant by one of her mother’s partners.
Her mother allowed several men, including a family member, to abuse her.
read full account of Shauns experienceA scoutmaster’s position as ‘part of the family’ enabled him to sexually abuse Shaun for years
Shaun was abused as a child on multiple occasions by his scoutmaster, Frank, who was a friend of Shaun’s parents.
He says it was not until he was an adult that he understood how wrong the abuse was, because abusers ’play with the heads’ of their victims and make them think the behaviour is ‘normal’.
read full account of Wallies experienceMany decades after he was sexually abused, Wallie has strong emotional reactions to certain things
Wallie says that counselling helped him to understand it was not his fault he was sexually abused by a doctor.
However, more than 60 years later, news stories about child abuse greatly distress him and he is constantly watching for signs that adults might be abusing children.
read full account of Agathas experienceAgatha describes being on ‘high alert … in a state of constant anxiety’ throughout her fostering
Agatha’s mother had mental health difficulties and found it difficult to care for her children. Because of this, Agatha and her siblings were placed in care.
She was sexually abused by the sons and father in her foster family, and physically and emotionally abused by the mother. She finds it hard to believe the family was paid to care for her and her sister: ‘They totally abused their position of trust.’
read full account of Gregors experienceGregor says the myth that victims and survivors will become abusers stops them from speaking out
Gregor was sexually molested by a youth leader when he was a young boy.
He confided in someone he thought he could trust, but this person raped him.
read full account of Pollyannas experiencePollyanna says ‘I no longer blame myself for what happened. I was just a child’
It was more than 30 years after she was sexually abused that Pollyanna understood she has complex PTSD.
She says this has had a huge impact on her recovery. ‘It’s as though I’ve found the key.’