A 26-year old woman revealed her own story as how she overcame a horrifying childhood where she and her sibling were abused by their father. The girl, from Powys, Wales, was seven years old when her father started attacking her and her five siblings after their mother passed out.
Zoe(not her real name) has spoken anonymously about her abuse in the hope she can help others. ‘We weren’t allowed to have a childhood, we weren’t allowed outdoors.’
Zoe recalled one horrific memory where she watched her father once almost killing her older sister.
She said:’One time my older sister Tracey had done something she wasn’t supposed to and so my dad strangled her until her eyes went back in her head and she collapsed. For me that was normal life.’
It was when she turned 12 the abuse became sexual, which made her so confused as she never wanted her father to be behind prison at that point of time.
After, Three years when things became really serious her sister who was also being sexually abused took Zoe and other four sisters to police, it was then when they were put into care.
She reveals herself in the video, “Things were horrible growing up, a typical day was get up and all of us kids had to tidy up and if we weren’t moving fast enough we would get punched or hit with a belt. We would have no dinner if the chores weren’t done. We weren’t allowed to have a childhood, we weren’t allowed outdoors”.
But after visiting police she said,”It was an unsettling time as they were suddenly split up and placed in different foster homes. They have kept away from their father although he was never prosecuted as they were too afraid to give evidence.”
‘I was taken into care in the middle of 2005. My sister was heavily pregnant and there were suspicions my father was the father of her child. We found out she had made a statement to the police. A policeman came to school and told us, “Your dad has been arrested and you are going into care.”
During this time, Zoe’s mental health deteriorated and she began self-harming. She also informed ‘I was so upset I took around 18 Paracetamols. I didn’t want to wake up and was disappointed when I did. I spent three days in hospital.’
The NSPCC then got involved, She said: ‘I was skeptical at first when Kerry(her friend) from the NSPCC came to see me but I began to trust her as she fought for my rights. She was my friend and it made me feel safe knowing she was at the other end of the phone and would listen without thinking I was attention-seeking. I was crying out for help and she was there to help me.’
“If it wasn’t for the NSPCC and people donating I wouldn’t be here today as I would have taken my own life as I felt so lonely and like no one cared about me”
Zoe has revealed her story now as she doesn’t want any other child to suffer the same way into adulthood like she and her siblings did.
Zoe said, “It took a suicide attempt before her mental health was taken seriously after she escaped her father and was put in care.”
Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “It shames our nation that children have suffered abuse languish for months and even years without support. It’s time to ensure that they automatically get the help they need to recover. We know that children are often left alone to deal with the corrosive emotional and psychological consequences of appalling abuse and that all too often they face long waits for help with their trauma, or the services offered aren’t appropriate for children whose lives have been turning upside down by their experiences: this must change. The views of professionals in this survey speak loud and clear. The Government and those that commission services urgently need to increase what is currently available to support this most vulnerable group of children. Getting help to these children earlier is vital and can prevent long-term damage to the lives of those who have survived the horror of abuse.”
The article originally appeared here.
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