'People want you to lie down and die': Sex exploitation survivors say talking about abuse is not a 'dirty secret'
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Survivors of sexual exploitation have urged people not to view talking about abuse as a "dirty, dark secret", as they encourage victims to come forward.
Four women, abused from as young as eight, are sharing their experiences as they try and educate police, social workers and teachers how to spot sexual exploitation.
They have formed an organisation, Reign, and hope to empower young victims by giving a survivor's perspective, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Each of the four hope to dispel victims' fears that they won't be listened to or are "too damaged" to be helped.
(Photo: Manchester Evening News)
Their message - "Child sexual abuse is a crime - but talking about it isn’t" - is being shared on huge billboards around Manchester,
Using their experiences, the four will hold workshops to help police, social workers and teachers identify the signs of child sexual exploitation. By telling their own stories, they hope to break the taboo, encourage young people to speak out - and ensure adults are able to give them the help and support they need.
They aim to raise awareness that all children are deserving of protection, whether they be under 12 or up to 18 years old.
The four have spoken out as part of RECLAIM, a charity which advocates working class young people and helps them challenge social stereotypes.
(Photo: Manchester Evening News)
Elicia , 19, is studying for a degree in counselling and is aiming to help other child survivors of sexual abuse.
She said: “I’m passionate because I’m a survivor of child sexual exploitation, which began when I was eight.
“I want to make a difference in society and educate professionals who have let me down and support young people going through these events in a different way.
(Photo: Manchester Evening News)
“We want to show that we can be powerful and strong and won’t be silent any more.
“Within Reign we all have different qualities and offer something different which makes Reign work. We want to make sure professionals are getting the right knowledge, that what may appear to be signs of normal teenage behaviours are actually signs of abuse.
“Further down the line we want to look at sentences that perpetrators are getting, we feel they aren’t long enough.
(Photo: Manchester Evening News)
“Child sexual exploitation affects you emotionally, mentally and physically - yet so many sentences don’t reflect that, and that’s not justice.
“Just because we went through something difficult it won’t define what we do next. It’s not the end, it’s the beginning for us. People who are abused are so scared they won’t be believed.
“We want to tell people you are believed, you aren’t alone, we want to make change.”
Zoe , 24, wants to be an activist to help implement change.
“I’m driven by my anger and sense of justice," she said. "I feel like working on campaigns I’m passionate about gives me purpose.
“We are people and we want to be heard.
“Reign is the first time I’ve felt like someone is believing in us, not babying us and feeling like we’re too damaged to speak to.
(Photo: Manchester Evening News)
“When you are sexually abused the power is taken away from you and this feels like we are getting it back. We want to tell others that you are not alone.
“We want to show that there are so many issues around consent. With exploitation it can be harder to see those lines.
“We want people to realise that if a child seems to be consenting to what is happening to them it doesn’t mean it’s OK.
“People want you to just lie down and die, be like a martyr to what you’ve been through. But we won’t do that.”
“When they meet us and hear our case studies, it gives them real experiences and helps them work in the real world.
“You need to see every child as a human, not as a case study.”
(Photo: Manchester Evening News)
Aaliyah, 22, hopes to open her own clothing line as well as continuing her work with Reign
“I was exploited from the age of 14. The reason I’m doing this is because I’ve been failed by professionals.
“I think professionals are using the wrong approach, I’ve been failed by the police after my abuse started when I was 14. My abuser was sentenced in the courts eventually.
(Photo: Manchester Evening News)
“But I would never want other young people to go through what I went through.
“I want to see more of discussion about this - not many people want to talk about it. They want to keep it behind closed doors like it’s secret.
“We want to make Reign bigger and better. We want as many people as possible to get involved and join the campaign.
Becka, 20, is studying history at university, she wants to dedicate her life to helping others and influencing change
“For me, the abuse started when I was 13. It should be OK to talk about sexual abuse. It’s not shameful, it’s not a dirty dark secret.
“I think there’s a real problem with victim blaming. People saying they should be responsible for their own behaviour, that they were old enough to know better even though they are still under age. I think we need to do something to change the attitude around the issue.
(Photo: Manchester Evening News)
“Child sexual abuse is a crime, we need to talk about that.
“I think as well that people have a lot of sympathy for the idea of a small child being abused - which is right.
“But there are all these other types of abuse, of older girls who can’t consent. So much behaviour is normalised and written off.
“We aren’t defined by what happened to us and we don’t want it to define the rest of our lives - we have the means to turn it into something positive.
“It feels like people want you to just lie down and die - be like a martyr - but we won’t do that. You wouldn’t wish what’s happened to us on anyone but we have turned it around.
“After one of our workshops one social worker said she was going to revisit a closed case because of something we’d said.
“If we can stop just one person experiencing abuse then that’s great.”
You can find more on Reign on Twitter @REIGNmanchester or check out the Facebook page.