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 Jo-Leighs experienceJo-Leigh says ‘The people I asked for help couldn’t deal with it or said “deal with it yourself”’
When Jo-Leigh was being sexually abused, she was told by more than one professional that she needed to manage her situation and its consequences herself.
‘So I felt I couldn’t speak to people about it’ she says.
read full account of Beas experienceBea was sexually abused by her stepmother and let down by the system
Bea was sexually abused by her stepmother.
A series of mistaken assumptions and errors made by different authorities have convinced her that there is nothing more she can do to bring the perpetrator to justice.
read full account of Aalias experienceAalia feels she was traumatised a second time by the criminal justice system
Years of sexual abuse that began when she was a small girl led Aalia to obsessively selfâharm. Years later she endured the ordeal of multiple trials.
Aalia was around seven or eight years old when she started going to the local mosque with her sibling. Soon she began going on her own, arriving early and waiting downstairs. A new mosque representative noticed her and suggested she should say her prayers early in his quarters. She thought this odd but agreed. He would stand next to her and compliment her. This went on for a few weeks.
read full account of Fernandos experienceFernando can’t understand why his parents did not question the inappropriate behaviour of his tutor
Fernando was emotionally neglected by his parents, who he describes as ‘self-centred and careless’.
They did not question why his private tutor spent a lot of time alone with their son, and took him away on holiday.
read full account of Fionas experienceFiona feels hurt and anguish at her family’s reaction to the sexual abuse she suffered
Fiona describes the household she grew up in as ‘strict and frightening’. She was from a religious family of priests and nuns. Her father turned to religion when she was about six years old and Fiona describes him as a ‘religious fruitloop’. She recalls that her mother would shout and beat her and her siblings.
Decades later, she realised she had been sexually abused by a visiting uncle, but her family did not support her.
read full account of Camilas experienceCamila finds it hard to live with the fact that the church chose to protect itself and its reputation
Camila was sexually abused by a prominent member of her church. She says that when she reported the abuse, ‘They tried to make me feel that it was all in my imagination’.
Camila explains that going to church was a key element of her life when she was growing up. The man who abused her was connected to her family and was held in high esteem by them and their church.
read full account of Daniels experienceDaniel says ‘private schools have their own rules’ and this allows abuse to occur
Daniel’s parents were pleased to get support with boarding school fees, so their son could have a good education.
But he was physically and sexually abused at the school and is still affected nearly 40 years later.
read full account of Suzannes experienceSuzanne knew no one outside her foster parents’ church and could not report she was being abused
Suzanne suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse when she was fostered by a couple who were Jehovah’s Witnesses.
She feels very strongly that the institution should not be allowed charitable status because of the way members are treated if they try to leave.
read full account of Lyndons experienceAfter his traumatic early life, Lyndon finds solace in writing poetry and drawing
Lyndon says he has felt abandoned all his life.
From a young age, he was neglected and left vulnerable to sexual abuse.
read full account of Sandras experienceSandra says ‘My parents should not have been parents’
Sandra describes a traumatic childhood; both her parents were abusive and her father was mentally unstable, violent and an alcoholic.
When Sandra went into care, it felt to her this was the first time she had been looked after properly.
read full account of Vinnys experienceVinny was abandoned as a child to a system that offered no love or care, only indifference and abuse
As an adult, Vinny has read a psychiatric report written about him that said ‘This child is in need of some joy in his life’.
He says, ‘Instead they locked me in an institution’.
read full account of Lennons experienceLennon says ‘I was let down and I don’t want other people to be let down’
Lennon says his religious parents were more interested in doing ‘good works’ in the community than in their own children.
He thinks this made him susceptible to sexual abuse, and that he was also let down by other adults and institutions.