In 1995 my step dad was recommended to a counsellor for depression. In the first session he admitted to her that he had loaded guns and knives in the flat where he lived with me and my mum. I was eight years old at the time, and had already experienced 3 years of physical and emotional abuse from this man. He told the counsellor that he wanted to hurt us on a regular basis. She then called the police to report this.
The police arrived at my front door on Christmas Eve when I was out with my step dad and searched the flat, found the weapons and other items like ex military mace spray etc. My mum told them that I was with him, and that I was a child. When me and my step dad arrived back at the flats the police surrounded us with batons and spray. They physically pulled me away from him by the arms and shook me. They told me to run back to my mum or they would spray me.
They arrested my step dad, and then released him, no further investigation despite the fact that he had admitted to trying to hurt us. The police officer who took my mum’s statement told her that she should’ve been more careful and stop going out to work so that he wouldn’t be a risk to me anymore. She told them that she was the only one with a job and she couldn’t afford to quit. They laughed in her face. They blamed my mother for this man’s violence. They ignored my pleas for help. They let my abuser go without any consequences. He abused me for another 4 years.
Constabulary: Hampshire Constabulary
Timespan: 1995/6
Did you report it to the police?: No
Your ethnicity: White British
