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 Lawrences experienceGroomed and sexually abused at prep school, Lawrence is frustrated that the headteacher was not stopped
Lawrence was sexually abused as a young boy by Stanley, the headmaster of the preparatory school he attended.
He says he could not tell anyone about the abuse. The school was old-fashioned in attitude and offered no pastoral care. In any case, Stanley’s offending seemed to be an open secret. Lawrence believes that many people, including parents of pupils, knew what was going on but no one did anything.
read full account of Terrys experienceTerry says of the children’s home: ‘I would rather have gone to prison ... the cruelty was unbelievable’
Terry’s father served overseas during the Second World War. His mother was unable to look after her children and Terry and his brother were sent to different Roman Catholic children’s homes.
He survived a regime of organised and sadistic abuse in the home, and narrowly avoided being sent abroad as a child migrant. His brother was sent overseas, with tragic consequences.
read full account of Sheinas experienceSheina says ‘I now know I was not to blame and I wish I had been believed’
Sheina was a young teenager, and her father had recently died, when she was raped by a health professional.
Her mother blamed her, and it took decades for Sheina to realise she should feel proud of how she has overcome her early experiences.
read full account of Indias experienceIndia says ‘I want to succeed in life, but don’t feel I can because my past gets in the way’
India was neglected as a child.
When she was sexually abused, in one way, she says, she was pleased someone was taking an interest in her.
read full account of Shanes experienceShane lived in a children’s custodial institution and feels unable to trust certain kinds of people
Shane says he committed several crimes as a teenager and was sent to a children’s custodial institution. From the moment he arrived, he was physically abused by staff, beaten and kicked for little or no reason.
He slept in a dormitory with other young people. One night, a member of staff, Duncan, came in and sat on his bed. Duncan began talking in double entendres and making suggestive comments, which Shane says confused him. This was soon followed by sexual abuse.
read full account of Evelyns experienceSchool seemed like a safe place to Evelyn, compared to her home, but her trust was betrayed
After her father died, Evelyn was left alone with her alcoholic, abusive mother.
Three male teachers at her secondary school exploited her vulnerability to sexually abuse her.
read full account of Everetts experienceAfter Everett was sexually abused, he was tricked into ‘confessing’ to the police about homosexual activity
Everett was sexually abused by a stranger in the 1960s.
He was horrified to discover recently that he has a criminal record for ‘homosexual activity’.
read full account of Cornelias experienceCornelia was abused by the woman her mum trusted to care for her child while she was at work
Cornelia says that in some ways her early life was ‘nice’ – she was not neglected and she always had a clean school uniform.
But her mother’s relationships left her vulnerable to abusers – male and female.
read full account of Flints experienceFlint says ‘I hold more anger towards institutions than the abuser. They are set up to help people’
Flint was traumatised as a nine year old after being sexually abused by a teenage male.
He suffered with the effects of this for nearly 10 years, and was dismayed when the police said it happened too long ago for them to investigate.
read full account of Elenis experienceEleni was brought up to respect authority and would never have challenged a teacher
Eleni’s parents were unable to look after her so she lived with a relative. Because she was being bullied, at the age of eight she was moved to a private school.
Her class teacher, Mr B, was extremely popular in the school. He soon began to single Eleni out for particular attention. When Eleni’s guardian picked her up from school Mr B would make a point of speaking to him, praising Eleni and saying that she was his ‘star pupil’.
read full account of Sams experienceAt Sam’s religious boarding school there was a culture of acceptance of sexual abuse
Sam attended a religious boarding school during the 1970s. He explains how he was one of several boys who were sexually abused by a teacher.
Victor was not a priest, but a lay member of staff. Very soon after he joined the school, he started abusing Sam. He would invite Sam to his personal quarters, on the pretext of helping him with his studies.
read full account of Esmories experienceEsmorie says it is unfair that many people cannot afford the counselling they need
Esmorie was sexually abused by a health professional who was a family friend.
She feels that if she had been offered more support afterwards, her mental health problems would not have escalated.