Swept Under The Carpet

Is Sexually Abusing A Child Forgivable?

He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love Martin Luther King Jr. We’ve all seen those short, inspirational quotes encouraging us to lead better lives. However well meaning they may be, the ones promoting forgiveness make me feel angry, hurt and belittled. You see, I’m unable to…

Unanswered Questions

It was a short and unremarkable tweet that drew my attention to just how many unanswered questions many victims of child sexual abuse carry. Flicking through my imaginary biography, paragraphs thick with guilt and shame have been cut out by those who betrayed me, naively thinking I wouldn’t notice. And whole pages are missing where…

Dirty DNA

The first things to go were objects that he’d touched. I couldn’t hold any of them without washing my hands afterwards in a vain attempt to wash him away, his dirt, his crimes. Photographs followed. But I didn’t just cut out his images leaving a hole as a reminder of my abhorrence of him, each…

Welcome to my blog site, exploring the taboo subject of child sexual abuse

Perpetrators of child sexual abuse thrive on silence. I believe that it was the stigma and silence surrounding this topic, that allowed a paedophile to assault me and other children, and for his crimes to be swept under the carpet.

Recently I revisited the distressing memories of the sexual offences committed against me when I embarked on a court case against the perpetrator. I have since been scouring the internet and listening to podcasts, documentaries and other survivors’ experiences, in an effort to process what happened to me and try to make sense of it all.

What is clear, is that this subject is still very much taboo and many myths surround it. I’m keen to share my experiences and observations to help break this silence that impedes children’s safety, and also to free victims of the burden of secrecy that we all too often carry.

Nicole Caroli