Sexual abuse survivor has been to hell and back
A survivor of sexual abuse turned to drugs to block out the pain and flashbacks.
The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, was first sexually abused as a young girl.
She didn’t speak out because she feared no one would believe her.
Years later she was betrayed by a group of people who she thought were friends.
The group of friends spiked her wine.
The woman blacked out and woke up in her bed the next day.
A male was in the bed beside her and she couldn’t remember anything.
“There was someone there next to me and I was like ‘what the hell?’,” she said.
She asked the male to leave.
A friend who had been present the night before asked her if she was OK.
At this time the woman didn’t have any memory of the night before.
“She said ‘I tried to come into your room last night but there were five blokes there and they held
a knife to my throat and told me to ‘get the fuck out, or you’re next’.”
The woman’s parents came to support their daughter and encouraged her to press charges.
However, the men - who had links to a gang - threatened her life.
“A gang member rang my phone and threatened my life,” she said.
“I dropped the charges.”
Once the charges were dropped, the men continued to come to her house.
Sadly, she started to doubt herself - thinking she may have been to blame for the abuse.
“That destroyed me for a while - I hit the drugs harder as a way to escape my reality,” she said.
The woman became addicted to ice for a few years.
She said there were times when she wanted to stop, but she didn’t until she found out she was
pregnant.
The woman was then a victim of domestic violence and eventually turned back to drugs to dull
the pain.
She was charged with drug trafficking and spent 15 months in prison.
It was there that she decided to turn her life around.
She completed a Certificate 2 in Kitchen Operations.
When she left prison, she spent 28 months on home detention.
During this time, she honed her cooking skills.
She is now working in the hospitality industry and is known for her delectable cakes.
The woman said she was determined to live a happy and healthy life for her children.
She shared her story on episode 7 of the Survivor Stories podcast. LISTEN HERE
