Tynna is distressed by delays and errors in the case against the man who sexually abused her
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Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
The family member who sexually abused Tynna is being prosecuted.
However, she has concerns about some aspects of the way the police handled her case.
Tynna grew up in a large family, and one of her brothers, Justin, lived elsewhere with another relative.
During the holidays, Tynna and her siblings would go and stay with this relative. On one of these visits, when Tynna was 11, Justin sexually abused her.
The abuse continued throughout the summer holiday when the children were staying together. Justin was four years older than Tynna and he told her not to tell anyone or she would ‘get into trouble’.
Tynna didn’t tell anyone because there was no one she felt she could talk to who would believe her.
When she was in her late teens, Tynna moved out of the family home. Her relationship with her mother had broken down and Tynna thinks this was because Justin had moved back with them. But she adds, she had not told anyone he had abused her because she wanted ‘to keep everything normal’ for her mother.
Some time later, at a family event, Justin tried to kiss Tina and this triggered traumatic memories for her. After this she had a breakdown and went for counselling. She discussed the abuse but decided not to contact the police until her mother died. She says she ‘tried to maintain normality but got into a panic’ whenever her brother contacted her.
More recently, Tynna had mental health difficulties and spoke to another counsellor about the abuse. This counsellor said that Tynna should report the abuse. Tynna felt she lost control of everything, which made her feel angry. She adds that she was then allocated a male counsellor who she had difficulty relating to, so she cancelled the sessions.
Tynna describes her experiences with the police as mixed. She considers she was supported well by the first force who dealt with the report, but then the case was transferred to police in another area.
She is not happy with the way the second force handled the investigation. Because of administrative errors, mistakes were made in the way witnesses were contacted, and this caused some of them distress. She has told the police her concerns that Justin has access to children, but has not been reassured they have taken any action.
Tynna adds that the case is progressing very slowly and there will be a few years between the first report and the trial, which is adding to her stress and anxiety.
Other impacts on Tynna, caused by the abuse she suffered, include sleep problems and difficulties with relationships with men. She self-harms and finds oral examinations distressing.
She would like to see changes made to avoid unnecessary delays in investigations of child sexual abuse. She suggests that people referred for counselling should always be allowed to choose whether they want to speak to a female or a male.
Tynna adds that there should always be someone at school for children to talk to; she had no one to turn to when she was being abused.
She has good support from family and friends who believed her from the first time she disclosed the abuse, and her GP is also helpful.