These are some of the experiences of child sexual abuse shared with the Truth Project by victims and survivors. All names and identifying details have been changed.
Download a PDF sample of accountsread full account of Sarahs experienceSarah says ‘If you don’t tell your story, how will it be different for the next girl?’
As a 12-year-old child, Sarah was sexually abused by several older men.
Her local community blamed and shamed her, and she believed she was a willing participant who deserved their contempt.
read full account of Isaacs experienceIsaac says that counselling isn’t a total solution, but it helps him deal with the impact of abuse
Isaac feels that people who are made to repress their emotions can be made vulnerable to abuse.
He would like to see this issue addressed in schools, particularly for boys.
read full account of Floellas experienceFloella says ‘The worst thing was not being believed’
Floella told her parents that she was being sexually abused at Sunday school, but they did not take her seriously.
Decades later, she is still affected by the abuse and their failure to act on what she told them.
read full account of Bradleys experienceA ‘respectable’ man used his wealth and status to insinuate himself into Bradley’s family
Bradley explains that his family had many reasons to trust the man who abused him. Perciville was a lay preacher with the Church of England and active in local Scouts and community groups. He was also a prosperous businessman who was generous to the hard-up family.
But Perciville began sexually abusing Bradley when he was nine years old, and continued to do so at every opportunity for the following six years.
read full account of Barbaras experienceBarbara says ‘I want my voice heard, I want it on record … I am not the child in the police station’
Barbara was a little girl when her happy life was shattered by the death of her mother. While trying to cope with her loss and grief, she was sexually abused by her adult stepbrother.
Within a year of her mother’s death, Barbara’s father had remarried, and her life changed dramatically.
read full account of Nitas experienceNita says ‘For many years I thought it was a stupid thing I did and I should just get over it’
The sexual abuse that Nita experienced as a nine year old began with attention from her older brother’s friend, which she enjoyed at first.
She quickly became trapped into engaging in sex acts that she ‘couldn’t bear’, but was too embarrassed to speak out about.
read full account of Thomass experienceA ‘horrendous’ experience in court for Thomas added to the trauma of being sexually abused
Thomas and his brothers belonged to a local sports club and met people from other clubs at events. When the family moved house, the boys transferred to another club, chaired by a man called Robin who they already knew from sporting events.
Robin used his position of status in the club and the sport to sexually abuse Thomas.
read full account of Laakias experienceLaakia believes that when she was being abused, she showed ‘clues after clues, but no one understood’
Laakia was sexually and physically abused by her father throughout her childhood.
She was treated in hospital for injuries, and says her behaviour at school became ‘feral’, but no one picked up that she was being abused.
read full account of Bobby-Johns experienceBobby-John says ‘I was let down by the institution that was supposed to look after me’
The local authority placed Bobby-John in a Catholic home where physical and sexual abuse were rife.
No one ever came to check on him or his siblings, and when he told the police about the sexual abuse he suffered, they took no action.
read full account of Haydens experienceHayden gave a statement to the police after he was sexually abused, but did not hear from them again
Hayden was sexually abused by the son of his father’s partner.
At the age of 10, he was interviewed by the police, but no one explained to him why the investigation did not proceed.
read full account of Caolans experienceCaolan was sexually abused by a Catholic brother but he confessed it as his sin
Caolan and his family were devout Catholics who attended Mass every week.
He was happy to be sent to a church boarding school because he believed anything connected with his religion must be good. But he was subjected to sexual abuse by several of the Catholic brothers, which caused him lasting damage and destroyed his faith.
read full account of Janets experienceJanet’s brother would try to comfort her after their foster father sexually abused her
Janet says her life is ‘dysfunctional’ due to the violence and sexual abuse she experienced as a child, and feels let down by the police and social services.
When she and her brothers were very young, their parents separated. Unable to look after his children, her father asked a family member to care for them. After a few years of instability, the siblings were placed in foster care where they remained until around they were around 18 years old.