Dad sexually abused daughter for years after he was granted post-divorce child access (Bristol, England)

Unfortunately, this article does not point out that many sexually abusive fathers specifically go after custodial rights after divorce/separation from the mother, all so they have easy access to the child victim. Mothers who object to the arrangement are often smeared as lying alienators.

The article also does not make clear whether this father had full custody or what. Was this girl's contact with her mother eliminated? Notice there is no mention of the mother in the story at all.

http://www.itv.com/news/west/2015-11-24/bristol-woman-speaks-out-about-abuse/

24 November 2015 at 7:02pm

Bristol woman speaks out about abuse

A Bristol woman who suffered abuse at the hands of her own father has told ITV News fear stopped her reporting the crime.

She told us her story on the day a major new investigation suggested only one in eight victims of sexual abuse come to the attention of authorities.

As if every single case of child abuse wasn't bad enough now it's being claimed the vast majority remain unreported.

Around 50,000 cases of sexual abuse were recorded by police and local authorities in the two years to March 2014.

But now an enquiry by the Children's Commissioner has found the number of children suffering abuse in the family has been vastly under-estimated.

It's estimated 85% of child abuse cases go unreported, meaning the actual number of children being abused over the two year period was around 450,000 cases.

Two-thirds of child sex abuse takes place within the home or is committed by a family member.

'Beth', from Bristol, was abused by her father from the age of three after her parents separated. But it wasn't until she became a teenager that she found the courage to come forward. 

"You just feel ashamed of yourself. That one - you've allowed this to happen to yourself or two - you just don't feel very clean so you're ashamed to tell people."

"Do I protect myself and stop it from happening? Do I protect the family? Do I protect the rest of my family's view of my father? It is a very very tricky situation." – 'Beth' from Bristol

While the authorities rely on victims to speak out, their young age and fear of either not being believed or of splitting up the family, makes that an impossibility for the vast majority.

Those left to pick up the pieces are calling for "urgent Government action" to prevent abuse, identify it early and support victims like Beth.

Failure to do so, they say, will only fail some of our most vulnerable young people all over again.