Sex abuse survivor’s book aims to aid other victims

A WOMAN who was subjected to years of cruel and terrifying sexual abuse by her father has written an inspirational book to give hope to other abuse victims.

It is three years since Kim Chown saw Francis Beaumont finally brought to justice over the decades of misery and suffering he put his daughter through.

Ms Chown gave evidence at Beaumont’s trial at Leeds Crown Court where he was locked up for 20 years after a jury found him guilty of a series of rape offences.

In May 2018, Kim waived her right to anonymity and spoke in the hope of becoming an ambassador for abuse victims.

The 56-year-old grandmother has her first book, Who Will You Believe You?, published later this month. It is an account of her traumatic past and how she has managed to build a happy life against all odds.

The book tells the story of Beaumont’s abuse, which continued for more than a decade of her childhood and into her adulthood.

Ms Chown was just 11 when her father, a university lecturer, took her from her mother to Kenya. There, he tormented her with extreme sexual and emotional abuse.

He made her pregnant, performed DIY abortions on her, force-fed her whisky and threatened to kill her by dissolving her body in a bath of acid.

The abuse was carried out safe in the knowledge that – as a pillar of the expat community – his word would be believed over hers.

Beaumont continued to abuse his daughter when they returned to live in Guiseley, Leeds, and raped her up until the age of 20.

Despite going on to create a new life, and a new family with her husband Jonathan, Beaumont still tried to exert control over Kim.

Spiralling into alcoholism, Ms Chown almost lost her life, but finally found the strength to bring her father to justice.

Who Will Believe You?, published by Bonnier Books UK, is available from April 15.