Millions of women avoid pursuing justice. This true story sheds light on why. At 53, Cathy Byrne reported to police that in the 1980s, she was groomed and sexually abused by a teacher from the age of 13. The fallout was devastating. Byrne’s visceral, deeply personal account details the intense mental and emotional stress of processing long-repressed trauma while also navigating family and community backlash and the exhausting victim-work imposed by the justice system. This rare insider story illuminates the challenges survivors face in a culture still confused about consent, the rights of children and the pervasiveness of rape myths. It shows the courage needed and the changes required for victim-survivors to get some justice, and to realise that fear is a trap that only hope can dissolve.
