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 Arunas experienceAruna says ‘I am still haunted by my trauma … I feel I cannot move forward’
The man who sexually abused Aruna took advantage of the close bonds and trust that existed in their Sikh community.
She still feels distressed and angry at all the people in authority who did not protect her.
read full account of Annabellas experienceAnnabella says people should question why ‘difficult children’ may be acting that way
Annabella describes herself as ‘a horrible person’ at school and says she was labelled a ‘problem child’.
But the reason for her difficult behaviour was that she suffered sexual abuse by a series of people, some of them relatives.
read full account of Cathys experienceCathy was empowered by the compensation she received for the sexual abuse at her church
Cathy was sexually abused by a youth worker in her church who became a minister and went on to work in another youth organisation. Cathy felt stonewalled by the church in her attempts to gain acknowledgment of the sexual abuse, but has persisted in speaking out, with the support of her loved ones.
Cathy grew up in a strict religious family and felt very isolated as a child. Her mother had a condition which made it difficult to have visitors, and she never knew her grandparents.
read full account of Harveys experienceHarvey says sexual abusers ‘weave themselves into the hierarchy of society’
The headteacher at Harvey’s primary school was held in high regard by the local community. He put on musical productions and organised outward bound trips that impressed supportive parents.
But behind the facade of respectability, he was sexually abusing children, including Harvey and his older brother.
read full account of Lindsays experienceLindsay says believed ‘calms and soothes you, and you bless the person who believes you’
Lindsay has a disturbing memory of being sexually abused by her uncle when she was a young child.
The trauma caused by the abuse has blighted her life, and she is angry with herself that she was unable to report it when it happened.
read full account of Tatianas experienceWhen her grandfather abused her, Tatiana says ‘I didn’t feel a bad person was doing a bad thing to me’
Tatiana’s extended family on her mother’s side were very close, and she spent a lot of time at her grandparents’ house.
When she was about nine years old, her grandfather started sexually abusing her, but she did not understand this at the time.
read full account of Montgomerys experienceMontgomery says there was widespread abuse at his boarding school. ‘You just accepted it as part of your life’
Montgomery was sexually abused at the boarding school he attended in the 1950s and 60s.
He was sent there at the age of eight, and says he didn’t want to go but ‘my father insisted … he thought it would do me good’.
read full account of Marcias experienceMarcia used an eating disorder to stop herself developing a woman’s body which might be ‘dangerous’
Marcia grew up in a large family. Before they met, both her parents had been widowed under tragic circumstances.
She believes her mother and father were distracted by grief when she was young, and this prevented them realising that she was sexually abused on several occasions.
read full account of Natassjas experienceNatassja says ‘We were supposed to be put in a place of safety but we were not ever safe’
Abused and neglected at home, Natassja and her siblings were put into care.
In her foster home, Natassja was subjected to more sexual and emotional abuse.
read full account of Angies experienceAngie says ‘I used to bite myself, throw myself downstairs, pull chunks of my hair out’
Angie’s early experiences of an unstable family life included living abroad, divorce of her parents, hospitalisation of her mother and harsh treatment by her stepmother. These made her vulnerable to a series of incidents of sexual abuse that continued into her adulthood.
On the point of committing suicide, she pulled back, and now continues to work on her recovery with the support of her husband.
read full account of Timmos experienceTimmo says ‘There were so many children … it scares me to think what happened’
Timmo was sent on regular retreats that were a ‘reward’ from his Catholic church for being an altar boy.
One of the priests in charge of these trips sexually abused him, and he believes the same thing happened to many other children.
read full account of Roses experienceRose was sexually abused in a children’s home, and the documents from that time are missing
Rose was brought up in a children’s home from a young age. When a kind and protective staff member left, she was left vulnerable to a sexual predator.
When a new manager, Walter, arrived from another home to take over, she remembers somebody saying ‘he plays about with the children’, but she didn’t understand what it meant.