Edda

Edda’s early life was chaotic and deprived. 

This led to her being sexually abused over a period of seven years, by a series of men.

Edda first went into care when she was nine years old because she was being severely neglected. She ‘bounced’ around the care system and was sometimes returned home to her mother. 

On one of these occasions she was raped by a man who lived nearby. He held her in his house for six hours until the police arrived. When they took her home, her mother called her ‘a slag’. The police did not investigate the rape, but Edda was sent back into care.

Edda says that looking back, that was the beginning of her ‘expecting abuse and placing myself in certain positions’.

For a time after this, she was sent to live with her father. He had not been in her life for many years and she did not know him. He was living with a woman who was an alcoholic and Edda was expected to look after her children.

Again, Edda was targeted by a man in the neighbourhood who spotted her vulnerability. He took her away from the home for several days and he repeatedly raped and abused her. 

The police became involved and removed Edda from his flat. Again, no one asked her questions about what he had done to her and she was not offered any support. 

In her early teens, Edda was placed in another children’s home. During this period she was ‘befriended’ by a man, who began to sexually abuse her. This led to her being exploited and sexually abused by many more males. She also was injected with Class A drugs, beaten and made to deliver drugs.  

She did as she was told because she was frightened of these men. She says ‘I didn't want to get beaten again and be sore’.

Edda says she frequently ran away and slept rough at times. She begged her social worker to place her in a foster home outside the area so she could escape the abusers, but the social worker did not do this. 

During the times when she was being groomed and abused, Edda had lots of gold jewellery, but no one asked her where she got it from. In later years, she has seen her care notes and found a reference to her having an adult ‘boyfriend’ who would watch TV with her in the children’s home. The same notes refer to her being involved in child prostitution. 

When she was still a young teenager, Edda was raped and became pregnant. After the baby was born, she contacted a women’s support charity and escaped from her abusers. 

Edda’s case is now with criminal justice authorities and a number of alleged perpetrators are to be tried in court for abusing her. This has been a very difficult process and she has made several complaints about the police to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, most of which have been upheld. 

Edda’s experiences have left her with a sense of mistrust in any authorities. She has mental health issues and attempted suicide in the past.

She feels let down by many of the professionals involved in her life. Her message to them is ‘If you see any young person with anyone over the age of 18 – and that child is vulnerable – don't walk away from it. It takes a child to die before there are proper inquiries.’