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 Juliannas experienceSexual abuse during childhood had many damaging impacts for Julianna that she is striving to overcome
Julianna had a difficult early childhood. He struggled with learning difficulties and hyperactivity. As a very young boy he was taken to see a doctor regarding an eating disorder and behavioural problems.
Julianna loved his mother and felt very close to her, but his parents had difficulty dealing with him. When he was eight years old they offered him the chance to go to boarding school and he readily agreed.
read full account of Traviss experiencePublicity about a high-profile abuser encouraged Travis to report what happened to him as a child
Travis was an only child of parents who both abused alcohol. Despite this, he says that he felt ‘looked after’ by his father.
He was taken into care when he was about five years old and sexually abused by a male member of staff. He reported the abuse decades later and the perpetrator was convicted.
read full account of Lucianas experienceWhen Luciana was assaulted as an adult, she began to make sense of her childhood experiences
When Luciana was a toddler, she was placed in the care of her grandparents.
For her whole life, she has lived with distressing memories and feelings from her childhood that she struggles to make sense of.
read full account of Nicos experienceNico was put into care because his father was violent, then suffered sexual abuse in a children’s home
Nico endured a childhood of almost unimaginable horror and brutality.
He was viciously beaten by his father, he witnessed his mother’s suicide attempt, and was placed in a children’s home where he was raped.
read full account of Rachels experienceRachel says ‘All I needed was just one person to act’
Rachel told several professional adults, and her mother, about the sexual abuse that she was suffering for seven years, but it wasn’t until she went to university that anyone listened to her.
Rachel’s father left the family home when she was about seven years old. She says she came back after an outing one day ‘and he was gone’.
read full account of Kirsties experienceKirstie says ‘It’s not just somebody has done something to you; someone has taken something from you’
Kirstie was brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness and was sexually, physically and emotionally abused by her father.
She says the church is quick to ‘forgive’ abusers and upholds different standards for men and women.
read full account of Andress experienceAndres says ‘Children are not criminals – they need care’
Andres was raped when he was 11 years old.
After this ordeal, he began stealing and was sentenced to youth custody, where he suffered further abuse.
read full account of Elisas experienceElisa says ‘People aren’t aware how much abuse there is … it takes so much to survive it’
Elisa was seven years old when her older sister disclosed that their father was sexually abusing her.
Failings by the care system allowed him to go on and abuse Elisa and her other sisters for several more years.
read full account of Sally-Annes experienceSally-Anne is very concerned about the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ ‘handling of child sexual abuse’
Sally-Anne was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness.
When she was sexually abused by another member of the church, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ members in authority told her that the abuse was her fault.
read full account of Roalds experienceRoald says that just because abuse happened a long time ago, ‘it doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter’
Roald kept the abuse he went through to himself for 50 years before he approached the police.
He feels very angry and upset at their response.
read full account of Jessies experienceJessie says that she still struggles with feelings of shame, but with support, she is moving forward
After Jessie’s parents got divorced, her paternal grandfather looked after her after school and sometimes at weekends.
He sexually abused Jessie when she was between the ages of 10 and 12.
read full account of Idas experienceIda says ‘Money doesn’t make any difference ... I just wanted justice … someone to believe me’
Ida grew up in the 1960s. Her father was a violent man, and when she was six years old, her mother left home. Ida and her brothers and sisters were taken into care.
She has fought for recognition of the abuse she suffered and the mistakes that were made when she was placed with an abusive carer and his complicit wife.