Sex abuse victim’s new call
Corroboration law can deny sex crime victims justice and cause siblings to fall out
A WOMAN has called for a sex abuse case to be reopened after suffering years of abuse as a young girl.
She said the original investigation into repeated rapes by her step-brother was flawed.
She says a failure to get justice and the pain of reliving her experience in lengthy police interviews, was itself “worse than the abuse.”
A WOMAN who says she suffered years of sexual abuse as a young girl has called for the police investigation to be re-opened, claiming the inquiry was flawed.
The 53-year-old mother-oftwo believes she was repeatedly raped by her step-brother from the age of around seven but, “blocked out” memories of the childhood trauma.
She says her older sister was also a victim but the alleged abuser was not charged because her sister denied it had happened when questioned by police last year.
Without corroboration from another witness, a requirement in Scots law, the case was closed and Police Scotland say: “All lines of inquiry were exhausted.”
She says a failure to get justice and the pain of reliving her experience in lengthy police interviews, was itself “worse than the abuse.”
The woman, who is divorced, believes the police investigation was mishandled. She claims the female officer who interviewed her “lacked compassion and professionalism,” and is critical an interview with her cousin, whom she had confided in as a child and believes is a vital witness, was carried out over the phone and not in person.
She lodged three complaints against Police Scotland, after coming forward last year, but only one was upheld by the force.
She bravely told her story to the Evening Times to encourage other women to come forward who face a difficult path in proving historic abuse.
She said: “I would hate to think of this happening to anyone else but I know that there are hundreds in my position.
“A lot of women turn to drink or drugs after someone like this happens because it is like a cancer eating away at them but I tried to get on with my life. I got married and had my children. However, I want the case re-opened and I want him charged.”
The mother-of-two went on: “I was a happy go lucky child like everyone else, a normal childhood. My mum and dad worked extremely hard. I had two brothers and another sister.
“My older step-brother would babysit me and my sister. He was about six years older. We shared a double bed and he was always in the middle.
“It mainly happened when he was babysitting. You would wake up during the night and he was there.
“I remember him touching me and me not wanting him to. I remember him taking my clothes off and me not wanting him to.
“The main thing I remember is me trying to close my legs tight to stop it happening.”
She says she confided in an older cousin who told her to to tell her step-brother that she had told someone.
She said: “She told me if that didn’t work to pick up the nearest object and throw it him. I remember I picked up a shoe and threw it at him and told him I’d told someone and he was going to be sorry. It stopped after that.”
“Then I just carried on with my life. I got married and had children. As far as I was concerned it hadn’t happened.”
She finally confided in her mother, when she was married in her 30s, who did believe her but she decided not to pursue a police complaint because she was pregnant with her first child and also, didn’t want to put her sister through the trauma.
She finally found the courage go to the police last year, after more than 40 years. Police interviewed her alleged abuser, her sister and her
‘‘ A lot of women turn to drink or drugs after something like this happens
cousin but they all denied the abuse had taken place. She no longer speaks to her sister and says the revelations of abuse created a rift with her daughter.
She said: “My sister and step brother are still friends. They are hiding an awful lot. I wouldn’t have walked into the police station if I had known my older cousin would have gone against me.
“[The police officer] said she believed me and that if this was in England, it would have gone to court.”
One complaint against Police Scotland was upheld, relating to officers keeping her updated on the inquiry’s progress. Police Scotland apologised and said they had “fallen below the high standards expected of us.”
The mother-of-two has now contacted the Police, Investigations and Review Commissioner, who looks into how complaints against the police are handled. She is being assisted by Glasgow MSP, Humza Yousaf.
Sandy Brindley, of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “After having the courage to report historical abuse, it must be devastating to know that a case can’t proceed. It’s particularly an issue in Scotland because of the requirement for corroboration.”