Davina was sexually abused and underfed in foster care, but her social worker decided she was a liar
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Davina has discovered from her social services files that when she was a small child, she was labelled a ‘liar’ by her social worker.
No action was taken when she reported that her foster carer’s son had sexually abused her, or when she was hospitalised with malnourishment.
When Davina accessed her social services files as an adult, she found out that she had been sexually abused when she was a very small child. The perpetrator was her mother’s boyfriend but she does not remember the abuse.
After this, Davina was taken into foster care when she was three years old, along with her two siblings. Her foster carer had an adult son – Davina thinks he would have been in his late teens or early 20s. He sexually abused her when she was six.
The sexual abuse by Davina’s foster brother involved him manipulating her to ‘do sexual things’. If she did not comply he would get her siblings into trouble and they would be punished. Davina says ‘I felt like I had to protect them’.
She remembers telling her social worker what the son had done, but does not remember any action being taken and she remained with the foster carer for another two years. She has also discovered from her records that she had been labelled a liar and ‘a naughty child’.
Davina says ‘I probably did say some things that weren’t true … but I was five and I wanted to be at home with my mum’.
During the same foster placement, the family moved to another area and during that time she only saw her social worker once, when she was ill and fainted at school.
She remembers that the only proper food she had were school dinners, which were often her last meal of the day. When her foster carer did feed her it was small amounts of junk food, while the rest of the family would be given full meals.
On one occasion a relative sent some sweets for Davina and her siblings, but the foster mother took them for her own children. The foster mother would say ‘Nobody cares about you, so why should I have to feed you?’
From her notes, Davina knows that it was lack of food that caused her to faint in school. She was taken to hospital and diagnosed with malnourishment. But she says, the foster mother claimed she was refusing to eat and because of what the social worker thought about her being a liar, nothing was done.
She had already told her social worker about the other abuse and she didn't believe her ‘so why would she believe me now?’
Davina had previously had contact with her biological family while in foster care, but her foster carer would not allow them into the house. The carer was also racist towards Davina’s family, who reported this to the social worker, but no action was taken.
Davina left the foster placement when she was eight and moved to a different foster carer, who went on to adopt her some years later.
When she was 10 years old, Davina’s mother reported the previous foster carer to the police. They came to see Davina but she didn't want to tell them about the abuse. She has never spoken about it in detail, because ‘I didn't want to upset my mum’.
Davina’s mum later complained to social services about the foster carer but was told ‘She is no longer a foster carer, so what else do you want us to do?’
Davina has experienced nightmares, anxiety and panic attacks. She has suffered a nervous breakdown and had postnatal depression, and has feared that social services would take her child into care. She says she always assumes that no professional will believe anything she says and is very upset by criticism.
She feels strongly that children should be believed if they disclose abuse, and professionals should always investigate reports, even if they have doubts. She also thinks that there should be better sharing of information between agencies, and professionals should be held accountable if this is not done.
Davina is training for a career in protecting vulnerable people.