Rotherham victim of Sammy Woodhouse (Image: PA)
I had a meeting with the Home Secretary and I made it clear it should be about all victims being supported, not just white girls.
Black girls get exploited and Pakistani girls do.
We need a government that tackles exploitation full stop.
I think we are behind as a country on this – we have been having a conversation on this issue for 10 years.
We don’t want this to be about politics. It should be cross-party, and about helping kids.
I spoke to Suella Braverman about the failures still happening in Rotherham today.
And it’s not just Rotherham I’m talking about – it’s the entire country.
Sometimes you are waiting six to eight years for a court case, or a therapy session.
Prison sentences need to be better.
If you look at our case, the culprits were given 35 years.
Rapists had contact with our children – it’s shocking.
Children are still being criminalised. We need to do something about that.
I also said mothers and children born through sexual violence need support. In my case, I met him when I was 14. I was sexually and physically abused and I was also groomed into committing crime.
I did not recognize it as abuse. I just saw him as my older boyfriend.
Then, of course, when you have your parents reporting it to the police, there’s a problem.
My parents weren’t happy and the police said that I was just making lifestyle choices.
When I told the police at 16 they completely ignored it.
When I went to them at 27 for help, they said there was only one missing person’s report on record. But I found my own evidence of police files and medical files and DNA from my son – I had everything. I did my own investigation.
After a trial, my abuser was jailed for 35 years.
What happened affected my life in loads of ways, I knew there was something wrong. It has affected me in work and relationships.
