Being sexually abused led to Parker living and working on the streets
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Parker explains that his mother found it difficult to manage her teenage children. She looked to two different men for support, and both of them sexually abused Parker.
He left home and lived on the streets for a time, where more men abused him.
Parker’s mother had three children and when she met her boyfriend, Tony, she was glad to have some support.
Parker, who was in his early teens at the time, describes Tony as a ‘full-time paedophile’. He was also an ex-offender.
He says Tony was always showing him adult films, and trying to do things ‘that would impress young people’. Parker says he was attracted to Tony, and he would dress like him and try to be like him.
Tony sexually abused Parker, and he did the same to his own daughter. He also took photos of Parker, and suggested that the two of them should spy on Parker’s sister in her bedroom.
When Tony was arrested and jailed, Parker was very affected by this. He says he became ‘uncontrollable’, constantly getting into trouble.
Again looking for help with managing Parker, his mother sent him to a family friend called Brendan. This man also sexually abused Parker, driving him around in his car and manipulating him to ‘do things’. Brendan told Parker that if he tried to report the abuse, he would tell his parents that Parker was gay.
When he was in his mid teens, Parker moved to another city. He abused drugs and alcohol, remembers that he hardly washed and walked around barefoot. He survived by working as a male prostitute, and was abused by many older men.
Parker feels that a number of people in positions of responsibility, such as his doctor and school teachers, failed to spot the signs of his abuse or act on things he told them.
He has suffered from depression, regularly has suicidal thoughts and has attempted to take his own life. He also has anger issues.
Parker has used therapy to help him recover. He would like improved access to counselling for survivors of abuse. He believes institutions should provide better training to help spot the signs of abuse in young people.