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Wendy's story

How the NSPCC helped her

At the age of 13, Wendy had been raped and indecently assaulted by her uncle. Although suffering the terrible effects of this abuse, she managed to get the courage to tell someone about what had happened to her.
However, after taking this brave step she was rejected by her family who didn't believe her. Wendy was a very timid, quiet young girl who found herself in a foster family home which was all strange to her.

She felt very lonely and isolated in her new environment and with the prospect of going to court, she was becoming increasingly anxious and withdrawn. All of this was on top of the abuse she had suffered and was an extremely distressing time for Wendy, yet she had no one she felt she could confide in, or to turn to for support.

Giving evidence

Giving evidence in court is traumatic for anyone, let alone a child, and particularly without the support of their family. It is a scary and strange experience, which is often not child-friendly or supportive of the children involved. Wendy was extremely scared at the prospect of going to court over such a personal and sensitive matter and particularly at the prospect of facing her uncle and the family who had rejected her. After speaking to her social worker and expressing her fears, she was referred to the NSPCC Young Witness Service to undertake their preparation and support programme.

Young Witness Service

The Young Witness Service at the NSPCC seeks to overcome the daunting experience that going to court can be for distressed and intimidated children and young people. By supporting them before, during and after the trial it enables them to give their evidence fully and with confidence, to give the case the best chance of achieving justice.

Wendy attended five preparation sessions before the trial where she was helped to understand the role of the different court personnel, encouraged to talk about her worries and to watch a video to help her understand what it is like to give evidence. Having had little previous knowledge of giving evidence in court meant that these sessions provided valuable insight for her.

Cross examination

Her worker from the Young Witness Service supports her right through the preparation and the trial itself. Wendy had no one else to support her at the trial and when the day of the trial arrived, she was extremely nervous and withdrawn. As soon as the cross examination began Wendy broke down in tears, overwhelmed by the experience. She was too nervous and distressed to answer the questions fully and found it hard to challenge the defence lawyer. She had a very difficult day and this was an extremely unsettling and difficult time for Wendy. With continued support over the coming days, it was important to build her confidence and self-esteem to ensure that she was able to accurately convey her experiences at the trial.

Wendy still found cross examination difficult, but with preparation and support, she found the strength and courage to challenge the defence lawyer when he accused her of not telling the truth. She was able to answer most of the questions asked of her and after she had given her evidence, her lawyer came to see her and told her that she had done her very best. These were important words to Wendy.

Moving on

The jury found the defendant guilty and he was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Wendy was pleased with this but still felt that 13 years in prison wasn't long enough for a person that had ruined another person's life.

Young Witness Service work Wendy is now over and she is currently receiving support from colleagues at the NSPCC Therapeutic Service. After everything Wendy had been through, she was finally able to start to move on in her life and said, "If the NSPCC had not helped me I probably wouldn't have been able to go to court. It was great to be helped."

Message from the NSPCC: All individuals involved in NSPCC cases are guaranteed complete confidentiality. To protect that trust, the names of all people featured in these cases have been changed. The essential details of each case, however, are true. The image is posed by a model.