I had experienced abuse my whole life; violent sexual abuse as a little girl in Jamaica by teenage boys, molested by teenage girls, and was assaulted by an adult man, a relative.

My elderly grandma became too sick to care for me.

I moved to England to live with my mum and dad, but they violently abused me.

They hurt me, told so many lies about me, turned other family members off of me so that no one cared about me.

I was called unruly and put in a children’s home. I thought I would be safe there, but a male care worker after gaining my trust and manipulating me, assaulted me when I was almost 14.

He made up lies about me being promiscuous, so that no one believed me when I reported him.

I felt so lost and alone. I later fell for guys that were violent and abused me and I had friends that didn’t truly see me.

I made a lot of mistakes and it took years for me to not blame myself. I now see the blame lies with the abusers, not the victims.

We were innocent children. The shame isn’t ours.