Voice of Survivors

Truth Project – The voice of victim survivors informing the need for training

Freddie:

His key message is that he would like tighter checks on faith schools and their responsibilities made clearer. He feels the local priest almost certainly knew what was going on and if it had not been a faith school the abuse would have been discovered sooner.

Chris:

Chris wants someone to be held accountable for what happened to him. He feels that private care organisations have unhealthy practices and their historical records should be checked. Men who appear disturbed and angry need support and people should not be frightened of engaging with them. Fair access to services is required for all, and more male staff are needed to work with young disengaged males.

Tony:

Many years after the sexual abuse, Tony visited a church to report what had happened to him. He was given an address to write to, but the response to his letter was that Sid had died and there were no other reports. ‘The church has a lot to answer for … I’m disappointed with their response; they should have done something’, he says.

Abbie:

Despite the fact her abuser was in the church, Abbie has retained her faith and says it has always been very important to her. But her experiences of turning to clergy for support regarding the sexual abuse have not been helpful. She has tried to discuss it with different church members a few times – the first when she was in her 20s – but has been met with disinterest on each occasion.

Dylan:

Dylan has found out that since leaving prison, Jacob still has the protection of the church concerning his current home and income. He thinks that the church may still not always be acting appropriately in responding to safeguarding allegations and they are still denying or making excuses for those they know have previously committed sexual abuse.