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 Chesneys experienceChesney says it felt ‘amazing’ to tell people he had been sexually abused and be treated with empathy
Chesney struggled for many years with the ‘shame’ of being sexually abused.
He says that counselling, and being supported by his wife and friends, has helped him find ways to cope.
read full account of Emmetts experienceScorned by his father, Emmett was vulnerable to sexual abuse from strange men
Emmett says he loved his father and saw him as a role model. Sadly, this devotion was met with derision and violent abuse. Emmett believes this treatment ‘set the scene’ for the sexual abuse he suffered.
From a young age, Emmett was regularly beaten by his father with a large leather belt. He describes how he had to ‘play dead’ to get his father to stop hitting him. His father was in the emergency services, and repeatedly put his son down, telling him that he could never do the same work.
read full account of Lowris experienceLowri says victims and survivors need to hear the message that abuse is not their fault
Lowri was sexually abused by her stepfather.
He admitted he had done this, but her mother thought it was ‘not so bad’ because he had not raped her.
read full account of Angelicas experienceAngelica says ‘I’m never pushed outside my comfort zone because I have never had a comfort zone’
Angelica had a chaotic upbringing with no parental support.
She was raped as a child but her GP said she had caused her own injuries and her mother said she must have deserved it.
read full account of Rogers experienceIt took years for Roger to question the power his abuser had over him
Roger suffered years of sexual abuse, including rape, at the hands of an Anglican priest.
It began when Roger was 12, and the abuser exerted such a level of control over him, that he was unable to extricate himself until he was in his mid 20s.
read full account of Alexandres experienceAlexandre remembers how at night he dreaded the man who abused him appearing in the doorway
Alexandre’s mother was struggling to provide for her children so he was sent to a Catholic orphanage in the 1960s, where he was sexually abused numerous times by a member of staff.
Alexandre grew up in a large Catholic family. His father worked away a lot, and was an alcoholic. Alexandre says that when he came home he had usually spent all the money he’d earned and he mistreated his wife and children. He adds ‘He was quite a terrifying man … I actually witnessed him beat my mother’.
read full account of Theos experienceSometimes Theo feels he doesn’t want to live, but he tells himself ‘Keep fighting – don’t give up’
After Theo was taken into care, he experienced and witnessed sexual abuse in children’s homes.
He is frustrated and annoyed to have been told his care records are not available.
read full account of Sammies experienceSammie was placed in a number of different care institutions but none of them kept her safe
Sammie describes being ‘bounced around’ several different secure units as a teenager because of her challenging behaviour.
This made her vulnerable to sexual abuse by care staff and other men she met outside the care system.
read full account of Kaylins experienceBeing abused by Catholic priests makes Kaylin ‘terrified when my son says he wants to be an altar boy’
Kaylin grew up in a large family. Her parents originally came from Ireland and were devout Catholics.
She and other members of her family were sexually abused over decades by two priests.
read full account of Hussains experienceAs a Muslim, Hussain says ‘It needs reinforcing that our faith does allow us to report abuse’
Based on his research and his personal experiences of child sexual abuse, Hussain shared his acute insight into the ways the issue is regarded within the Muslim community.
He describes some of the barriers that prevent victims and survivors from speaking out.
read full account of Nolas experienceWhen Nola reported sinister online sexual abuse, the police asked her if she had led the abuser on
Nola was subjected to years of online sexual abuse and sinister threats from a man who also seemed to be physically watching her.
The police did not seem to take her report seriously and she is still frightened of the abuser.
read full account of Lukes experienceSexual abuse by a relative and a difficult home life set Luke on a troubled course
Luke dates the problems he has experienced in his life back to when his uncle sexually abused him.
He was very young when this began and says he would never had said anything as to him it seemed like his uncle was ‘just playing with him and being touchy’. When Luke was about seven or eight years old, his uncle began asking to see Luke’s penis and asking Luke to touch him. He remembers that his mother wanted to know why he didn’t want to go to his uncle’s house, but he could not tell her.