The story I said I would never tell.
A few years ago, I worked with a girl, we will call her Gemma.
When I met Gemma, she was 13 years old. She was in care, as were all her sisters and her mum still lived in the local area.
Gemma had gone onto care about 18 months before I met her. Her younger sister had disclosed that “Grandad” had been doing things to her, but also said, “Not as bad as what happens to Gemma”.
What transpired was that the mother had been sexually abused since she was a child by her father and his friends. Her own mum had known about it and done nothing to stop it. Fast forward a few years and the mother had several girls of her own, including Gemma.
Mum had continued to allow her father to be part of her life, and her children’s, despite the history of abuse. Gemma’s sister disclosed that when they went to see Grandad, all the girls (Not Gemma) were made to lay in a row and Grandad would inappositely touch them. Sometimes there were other men. Mum knew, according to the sister, but said that Grandad was not allowed to do anything “Bad” to the girls.
That was saved for Gemma.
When I met Gemma, she was off the rails. She was running away from her placement often and smoking weed. She would not listen to anyone at school. I was asked to try and work with her and keep her in mainstream education.
But here is the thing…how can I convince a child to go to maths when she keeps talking about how her mum “Pimped her out”?
Read more of Kendra Houseman's heart-wrenching description of helping young helpless girls overcome their horrific stories at https://outoftheshadows.blog/2...tter_impression=true
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