Criminal justice system

Home: Survivors: Incest & Child Abuse: It happened to me

Few of the women had been involved with prosecution of the abuser as most had not disclosed their abuse until many years after the abuse had stopped. There were, however, strong views about the lack of sensitivity of the legal system towards victims of abuse and the difficulties in prosecuting child sexual abusers.

'People forget that it's a crime. They just don't think of it as a crime. It isn't taken seriously when it's reported. You're always hearing about minimal punishment which is outrageous. We do need to change the whole system. It has to be hardened up.'

'It's humiliating, it's embarrassing. You're the one that has to put up with it all your life and they just walk around like nothing happened and they can do it over and over again. It's not fair.'

'It's terrible when you're not told what's going to happen. If you get involved with the legal system you need to know all the processes.'

'The legal system is terrible. Cases keep on getting dropped because kids don't know dates.'

'The legal system needs education, in particular judges and decision makers. The judicial system needs to be more compassionate towards victims of abuse.'

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