read full account of Joes experienceJoe blames himself for not fighting off the man who raped him in a custodial institution
Mistreated and neglected as a child at home, Joe committed a range of petty thefts, sometimes to feed himself. He built up a record of offences and was sent to a residential institution where his experience was very positive. He says ‘I absolutely adored it’.
Sadly, this respite from his difficult life ended when he was sent to a custodial institution. Joe relates how the day he arrived, he was given cleaning duties and told to clean the corridor.
read full account of Alistairs experienceAlistair is determined his children will have the childhood that was taken from him
Alistair grew up in the countryside and describes his childhood as ‘idyllic’ but marred by a single incident of abuse.
He describes how he was unable to tell anyone what had happened and how it troubled him for many years, before he spoke to the Truth Project.
read full account of Samuels experienceSamuel’s family were part of a religion where everything was about control, manipulation and gratification
Samuel was born into a religious organisation, which he describes as a cult, that subjected him to sexual, physical and mental abuse.
He says the organisation focused selectively on parts of the Bible concerning discipline and, in his opinion, took this to the extreme. He describes life as ‘harsh’ for him and the other children in the religious group.
read full account of Cliffs experienceCliff says children in care need to be looked after and listened to
Cliff was arrested as a teenager for petty theft. As a result, social services obtained an interim care order and he was put into care and placed in a children’s home.
There were six boys in the dormitory in the home. One of them began bullying Cliff and made him perform sex acts on him. This abuse happened both in and around the home.
read full account of Marias experienceMaria says 'I can't remember a time when I didn't know what sex was'
As a baby Maria was removed from her mother’s care after being found alone and neglected. Her father worked away and could not look after Maria so she was placed with her grandparents.
There she was sexually abused by a lodger and two of her uncles. Later, she bravely protected her younger sister from the same fate.
read full account of Alexs experienceAlex would like to see a ‘consent culture’ taught in schools
Note: Alex asked to be referred to as 'they' for personal reasons.
Alex describes a ‘terrible time’ during childhood with an abusive mother and stepfather and sexual assaults at school.
read full account of Bryns experienceAfter he was abused, Bryn led a troubled life, but says counselling changed everything for him
Although his parents split up, Bryn describes his childhood as happy. But sexual abuse by a cadet leader altered the course of his life.
Bryn was the youngest of three children. His mother was in her early 20s when his father left the family. Bryn missed him, but soon after, his mother got a new partner, and Bryn says he could not have asked for a better stepfather. He was also close to his grandfather.
read full account of Agathas experienceAgatha describes being on ‘high alert … in a state of constant anxiety’ throughout her fostering
Agatha’s mother had mental health difficulties and found it difficult to care for her children. Because of this, Agatha and her siblings were placed in care.
She was sexually abused by the sons and father in her foster family, and physically and emotionally abused by the mother. She finds it hard to believe the family was paid to care for her and her sister: ‘They totally abused their position of trust.’
read full account of Leonards experienceLeonard is upset that his parents’ trust was betrayed by the priests who sexually abused him
Leonard’s family were devout Christians and he and his two siblings were sent to church schools. He and one of his siblings were sexually abused by priests but at the time did not confide in each other or their parents.
Leonard describes how tortured he felt by the abuse, and his distress that his parents were so cruelly deceived by people they respected and trusted.
read full account of Dylan s experienceDylan lost his faith when he was sexually abused by a curate, who was protected by the church
Dylan grew up in a family of active church members. But the sexual abuse he and others were subjected to by a curate and the inadequate response from the church have caused him extreme distress and turned him away from his religion.
The sexual abuse happened to Dylan when he was a boy. In his teenage years, he saw a news report about his abuser, Jacob, who had been convicted of an offence against another boy. This prompted Dylan to disclose his own abuse to his parents.
read full account of Teagans experienceTeagan says ‘I didn’t understand what had happened to me until I was much older’
Teagan was sexually abused by her brother and his friend, who were six years older than her. The teenage boys also abused some of her friends.
The abuse began when she was nine years old and continued through her childhood. It has caused lasting damage to her family relationships and her mental health.
read full account of Bens experienceBen says ‘Looking at the map of my abuse, everybody knew … nobody stopped it.’
As a young boy, Ben loved his local church and joined the choir, often performing at concerts.
He thought the choirmaster, Robin, seemed like a ‘nice, modern chap’ and was pleased when Robin invited him to his home to see a train set.
Pages
- 1first page
- Page 1 of 26
- 2
- 3
- …
- 26last page
- Next
Your privacy
There are very limited circumstances where we tell anyone your name without your consent, for example if a child is currently at risk and we need to tell the police.