Sex abuse survivor wants judicial system review after 'barbaric' experience

Amber, speaking to the BBC's Joanne Writtle, said she felt suicidal after her case collapsed

A child sexual abuse survivor says the the judicial system must improve and children given more support in court cases if victims are to come forward.

Amber, not her real name, from Stoke-on-Trent, reported abuse by a family member but the case subsequently collapsed when she was 12.

Children's charity the NSPCC wants the government to review how the justice system can be made to work better.

Prosecutions for child abuse nationally have halved, the charity says.

There were 6,394 in 2016-17 in England and Wales which fell to 3,025 in 2020-21, its figures show.

Amber said she endured three years' of abuse by the family member when she was eight or nine before telling a teacher about her ordeal.

She said the teacher believed her and explained what would happen next, but "it got more difficult through the procedures you had to follow".

The case was heard in court a year later, but after a week it collapsed. She said she began having suicidal thoughts and she started taking anti-depressants.

She said she remembered "sobbing for hours" thinking how she had lost family, a year of her life and "the case is collapsing due to lack of evidence".

"It just felt barbaric to me," she said.

She wanted more child psychology to be used when dealing with young abuse victims

Ten years on, Amber said she wanted to see more child psychology "mixed in" with the judicial system because it felt like "they don't understand children".

Pierre Hyman from NSPCC said the review was much needed.

"Last year when there was a similar drop in prosecution rates for adult rape cases, they very rightly launched a review to work out exactly what has gone on - that's exactly what we're asking for here," he said.

The Ministry of Justice said the government was determined to deliver better support for all victims and was committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our society, in particular children.

"That is why we're investing almost half a billion to reduce court delays, spending over £185m on vital support services and boosting the number of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors," the spokesperson said.