Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2976

Tonight's special guest is Amy Holly Campbell from Leeds, United Kingdom, telling her story here at NAASCA for the first time. Amy offers us her website. A lot of the abuse she experienced at first was violent. She shares, "My life started with a loving mother and an abusive father. He would beat my mother and me. On one occasion, was so frightened of him I wet myself, so he smacked me for doing this." Drugs and alcohol took their turns affecting the family. "A few years later my mum finally ended their relationship. Then mum got into the wrong crowd of friends, and started drinking heavily and taking illegal drugs. The drugs turned my mum into an aggressive and verbally abusive person towards me at the age of 9 years old, constantly hitting and wishing I was never born." Amy says she thought, "I ruined her life by breathing." She goes on, "During this time I was hit with some confusing and devastating news .. that my dad was not my biological father and that I had been living a lie. He disowned me after he broke the news to me. Not long after my devastating news about my father, I was sexually abused by a stranger. He was 18 and I was 9 years old. I never told my mum at the time. I was petrified of her. I waited 14 years after the person who abused me mocked me online." So I reported it, as I hated the thought of this person hurting another child and family." Amy says, "I have so much more to write about my turbulent childhood/present life, but it would exceed 300 words." She concludes, 'I am here to share my life story/experiences, and to inspire other trauma victims to come forward about their trauma/abuse. I want to have a career in helping others."