Leon feels that being sexually abused led to him becoming involved with drugs and crime
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Leon’s mother had a mental health problem and when he was first taken into care he was relieved to get away from her unpredictable behaviour.
But he was sexually abused in his foster home and this had lasting consequences on his life.
Leon explains that his foster parents sometimes left him in the care of their son, Albie, who was in his twenties. At first, Albie would let Leon play with his computer games, but after a while he started using this treat as a ‘bribe’ to sexually abuse Leon.
The son would take Leon into the bathroom and anally rape him. Leon remembers how much this hurt. He says that Albie did not threaten him but he did say that Leon must not tell anyone. Leon adds that at the age of seven, he thought that Albie’s behaviour towards him was ‘normal’.
This sexual abuse continued for a few years. It was happening so frequently that Leon began running away back to his mother. He remembers that his school work deteriorated.
He also recalls that before Albie started abusing him he had thought his foster home was ‘nice’; there was no shouting and he didn’t have to worry about how his mum would be behaving towards him.
No one asked him why he was running away so often, and after a while, his social worker placed him back with his mother. But by this time his mother was abusing drugs and was emotionally and verbally abusive towards him.
Leon eventually told his mother about Albie having sexually abused him, and she called the police. He was taken to the police station where he gave a statement and was subjected to an intimate medical examination, which he found traumatic.
After this, his mother was still violent and paranoid, and kept asking him who else had sexually abused him. Desperate to stop his mother beating him, Leon gave her a name and she called the police again. But he says ‘the guilt was too much’ and he told the police he had made it up. After this, the police stopped investigating his complaint against Albie; he thinks they assumed he had lied about this too.
Leon started at secondary school, but found it difficult to cope and he frequently truanted. He was taken back into care and during this time, several social workers asked him if he had really been sexually abused by Albie.
After he left school, he says his life became ‘chaotic’. He began drinking but it escalated into taking Class A drugs, and getting involved in crime to fund his habit. He says he ‘lived not to think anymore’ and felt angry and resentful of his parents.
Leon has spent time in prison and been homeless. He has been treated for his addictions and is currently in recovery and living in supportive accommodation.
He applied for criminal injuries compensation, but his claim was rejected because of his criminal record. He says he wanted some form of justice and recognition of what happened to him as a child. He feels the decision was unfair and that this policy should be reviewed, because he believes his addictions and the crimes he committed are directly linked to the sexual abuse he suffered as a child.