Sexual abuse survivor urges others to come forward to mark sexual violence awareness week
Julieanne Boyle is speaking out about her experience to encourage more reporting
A woman who became pregnant after she was attacked by her father in 1990 is urging others to come forward and report sexual abuse to police.
Julieanne Boyle was attacked on her eighteenth birthday in 1990, by her father William Boyle who is now 88 and from north Belfast.
He was recently sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
Julieanne has waived her right to anonymity and is now speaking out in the hope that others will do the same:
“He was a monster, I can say it now.
“I fell pregnant to him, I lost my baby at three months, for the first time in my life I was able to give her a name but at least I spoke out and for the first time she can be free.”
Julieanne was placed in a local psychiatric unit for over eight months after she lost her baby and she never saw her father again.
Now aged 51, Julieanne doesn’t want to feel silenced anymore:
“I’ve never had a birthday in 33 years, I can now celebrate a birthday.
“To break my silence through this, to open this pain was hard but you know it’s a relief.
“It’s not my shame to carry.”
To mark sexual violence awareness week, the PSNI is urging other victims to come forward.
Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher of the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch said: “The silence surrounding sexual abuse must be broken. In Northern Ireland we have had a rise in the number of victims of non-recent abuse coming forward, not just in familial cases like Julieannes, but also involving long standing institutions.
“For so long, there has been a cultural stigma at play and we have harboured a society where sex in general has been a taboo subject and so when people have been assaulted, they have found it incredibly difficult to tell someone.
“It is encouraging to see reporting figures go up as it tells me that our communities are taking serious steps to dispel harmful myths and move away from a victim blaming culture.
“This week, and every week, we are asking the public to take a stand with us and say – it is not ok. The perpetrators of these crimes are only ever the ones at fault and don’t let the passage of time stop you from finally having your voice heard. We will listen, support and robustly investigate, always.
“If you have been the victim of a similar crime, I hope that Julieanne’s case and other recent successful sentencings gives you the confidence to tell us.”
If you have experienced any form of sexual abuse you can contact police on 101, or in an emergency call 999. You can also report online here.