Victim and survivor voices must be heard – stop the political point-scoring
3 min read
The only positive I have seen about the call for another inquiry into child sexual abuse is that the issue is being talked about. But that is all.
It is disheartening, and damaging, to see this issue being used for political point-scoring. The media frenzy of misinformation is unhelpful. International intrusion into UK democracy and the mindless acceptance of this is, in a word, scary.
It seems everyone has an opinion on this subject, whether they are in possession of the facts or not.
The only voices in this that count are the ones of victims and survivors. We are the ones who understand the impact child sexual abuse has and what bespoke, connecting services are needed to support us in our recovery. In all this furore, that point has been lost.
I speak as a survivor of multiple, complex, violent crimes committed against a child with hidden disabilities. Over a 10-year period, that’s all I knew. I just needed to survive. Then I became hell-bent on thriving, disassociating myself from what happened to me. Written off at school as being not clever, I went on to college, university and then law school to prove otherwise. Two years after I was raped, aged 20 I represented my first client in county court. I spent my career in law, people and project management in both the private and not-for-profit sector.
I paid the price of inputting into that inquiry – I am here to see action
The grip of child sexual abuse is relentless. Whether I wanted to or not, I had to accept what had happened and its impact on my health. I gave up work due to life-changing injuries; complex post-traumatic stress disorder, ADHD, chronic fatigue and chronic pain.
If that were not enough, I must navigate systems that do not adequately support survivors of sexual abuse. The NHS, mental health services, social services, police and the justice system are overstretched and underfunded. This year I will attend the second tribunal in three years to fight to have my benefits reinstated and paid at the right level.
Too much responsibility is placed on the not-for-profit sector to pick up the pieces when funding is reduced and insecure. Too much responsibility is put on me as a survivor to cope alone. How am I supposed to recover? Who is thinking of me in this conversation?
I’ve spent the last week with a migraine, nausea, and so chronically fatigued I’ve been unable to get dressed. My body in chronic pain from carrying so much tension. My head full of flashbacks, caught in the past instead of celebrating the new year. Unable to contact friends even though I know they’re concerned about me. It has left me isolated, feeling frustrated, angry and hopeless. Unseen, unheard and unvalidated all over again. It’s not acceptable.
An inquiry at a national level has been held. We do not need another one. I spent years giving evidence and insight into how child sexual abuse affects me; how systems work, or not, to support me. That took courage, time and energy. I paid the price of inputting into that inquiry – I am here to see action.
To hold another inquiry is to ignore the work that went into the first one. It only delays what needs to really happen: to act on the recommendations we put forward. It would waste public funding that could be used to fund those much-needed bespoke services for victims and survivors.
Next time this conversation comes to the fore, let’s all think of the victims and survivors, and remember how we are forced to relive our trauma every single time.
Nicky Richards, member of the IICSA Changemakers Survivor Advisory Community
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