Royston says everyone thought he was ‘naughty and dysfunctional’, when in fact he was scared
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Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Royston explains that he is dyslexic, but at school he was often called ‘stupid and thick’, and this affected his attendance and his behaviour.
He was put into the care system, and sexually abused by his social worker, as well as staff and peers in children’s homes.
Royston was at school in the 1970s, and his dyslexia was not diagnosed. He struggled with his work and was verbally abused by the teachers. When he was 10, his much-loved grandad died, and after this, he says, he lost interest in school completely and began misbehaving at home.
A court order allocated him a social worker, Paul, who asked Royston to help him paint his office, but would sexually abuse him while they were alone together. Paul would take Royston out in his car and to his home, and used these outings as further opportunities to sexually abuse him. He also emotionally abused Royston, being ‘snide’ and insulting about his dyslexia.
Royston says that he would be in shock when Paul was abusing him, and felt powerless to stop him. He also felt it was his fault it was happening.
He couldn’t tell his mother that he was being abused because she thought his social worker was a ‘nice man’. If Royston misbehaved she would tell Paul, and he would beat Royston on his bare backside.
The abuse by Paul ended when Royston was allocated a different social worker. He does not know why this happened. Some time after this, he was sent to residential care, and he says he went ‘from one home to another’.
He describes this time as ‘horrific’, saying he had to be ‘dragged kicking and screaming’ to the homes, where he was frequently subjected to sexual and physical abuse from both staff and his peers. He adds that in one home that was particularly violent, the staff liked to divide the boys into racial groups and encourage them to fight each other.
Royston had hoped to join the armed services, but this was not possible for him because his education was affected by his early experiences. He suffers flashbacks and has had suicidal thoughts. He has turned to drink and drugs to help him cope and finds it difficult to be in close proximity to other men. As an adult, Royston has spent time in prison but says his criminal activities are behind him now.
He has tried to access his records but has been told they are lost. He says all he wants is an apology for what happened to him while he was in care.
Royston would like to think that in future, children will be listened to and he hopes there is now a better understanding that there is always a reason for a child ‘misbehaving’.
In spite of everything he has been through, he says he is ‘one of the lucky ones’, because he has come out alive. He tries to always look for the positive in things. He keeps himself fit and does voluntary work in his local community.