Yvonne was just 11 years old when her mum passed away, on Mother’s Day. Three days later, and for 18 months afterwards, her cousin started assaulting her. She didn’t know how it was wrong (she hadn’t yet had any conversations about periods, much less sex), but she knew it felt wrong. He made her promise not to tell anyone, and she didn’t.
Over 30 years later, and as a mother herself, she began to look at self-development. As these issues were coming to the surface, she found it increasingly difficult to live with herself. The Jimmy Saville scandal was unfolding and she found herself in her church role advising other vulnerable women. Memories were triggered. Yvonne realised that even though decades had passed, it had slowly been eating away at the core of her soul and the ‘silence was destroying [her]’.
She reported the childhood abuse and, even as an adult, with the distance of time, the process was traumatising. The police advised her not to tell anyone, not even family members: they would be witnesses too. As an adult, just as a child before, she was to keep this secret to herself.
When the case eventually came to court (about three years after reporting), Yvonne’s rapist was found not guilty. The jury was made up of 11 men and one woman. Eleven white people, and one Asian man. Yvonne is a black woman. As soon as she saw that jury, her heart sank.
Today, her rapist is working with vulnerable young people and vulnerable elderly people. Yvonne was silenced by the rapist as a child, silenced by the reporting process, and is now silenced by the court verdict. The ‘not guilty’ verdict made her feel like her mouth had been bound up. Yvonne has vowed to be silent no longer, and instead become a Voice of Freedom to empower others to regain their lives, too.
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Picture of Yvonne Michèle
This women- shes so strong. Im sorry to those that have experienced this or have been through similar situations.
