‘There is a gap in services for children who have been sexually abused’

Emma’s* nine-year-old daughter was left traumatised and withdrawn after being the victim of sexual abuse, but she struggled to find the help she desperately needed.

The Green House was able to provide specialist support where no one else could.

Yet, with demand at an all-time high, no statutory funding and six month waiting lists, the Bristol-based charity urgently needs to raise £10,000 to expand its capacity and continue its vital work.

The Green House has been working with sexual abuse victims for more than 30 years and is running a crowdfunding campaign to buy St Agnes Lodge in St Paul’s from Bristol City Council which will enable hundreds more young people to access the services.

Emma’s story is a stark portrayal of the vital role the St Werburghs charity plays in helping the most vulnerable people in society, who would otherwise slip through the net.

“My daughter was nine and we found a message on her phone from her half-brother saying ‘do you want to come upstairs and play our game?’,” says Emma. “He is 17 so we confronted him. We had been completely unaware of what had been going on and he was coming and staying in our house.

“I told the school, who referred us to a social worker – my daughter told the social worker that the game involved her touching him and him touching her.

“He asked if she would have sex with him – she was only nine. It went to court and he pleaded guilty to seven out of eight charges. He is now on the sex offenders register and he has a restraining order from my daughter.”

Emma lives in Cheltenham and says she was unable to find any services that could provide help locally.

“Social services just gave us a list of possible counselling services to help, but none of them catered for people her age,” she says. “We contacted the NSPCC, but we did not live in the right area for their services.

“There is just a gap in the services for children who have been sexually abused. Finally, I found The Green House who said they would help us.

“My daughter was a bit reserved to start with – she did not want to speak to anyone. But her therapist has a lovely relationship with her and she cannot wait to go in there now.

“She has been through a lot for someone her age. She wets herself quite a lot and that’s because of the trauma apparently. She was a really bubbly little girl, but she stopped going to all her after school clubs and became withdrawn – now she has started going again and the wetting is less frequent. I think the difference is having somewhere like The Green House to go.

Artist’s impression of the new child therapy room

The NSPCC estimates that one in 20 children have experienced sexual abuse, the equivalent of a child in every Bristol classroom, yet there is no national statutory funding for those under the age of 13.

“It is not something that is shouted about enough,” Michelle Windle, director of The Green House, told Bristol24/7, adding that she hopes things will change in the wake of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

“In the past when I have asked the Government, they say to go to the police and crime commissioner – and she has given us some money, but the funding streams have been cut there too.”

Michelle says the charity’s current St Werburghs base can no longer meet its growing needs

The Green House provides support for victims of sexual abuse of all ages at a cost of £330,000 per year and while it receives statutory funds for the adults’ services, Windle says it is a constant battle to raise enough to continue the work.

St Agnes would not only give the charity the space it needs to cope with increasing demand, but will also be fully accessible for disabled people.

“Here, we have a small waiting corridor with just three chairs and that was fine 20 years ago, but not anymore,” continues Windle.

“It’s so difficult for both adults and children coming here for that first assessment – we sometimes get people sitting for an hour on the wall outside sizing up if they are really going to go inside. Particularly men are often coming to talk about childhood sexual abuse for the first time ever.

“Our therapy is a very sophisticated way of working with children because sex is an adult experience and children do not want to talk about it and are not equipped to talk about it. Through art and drama, children can express how they feel. They often won’t talk about the sexual abuse itself but it comes out through stories and drama.

“It is getting them to take the guilt and shame that comes with sexual abuse and saying ‘it’s not you’.”

The charity’s first ever crowdfunding page has already raised its target £5,000 – to be match funded by Comic Relief – but every penny raised will help The Green House to continue its vital work with victims of sexual abuse. To help, visit: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/thegreenhouse before Wednesday, November 29.

*Name has been changed to protect the victim’s anonymity.

Read more: Help needed for victims of child sexual abuse in Bristol