Sexual abuse survivor from Hastings sets up charity to help others

A woman who was sexually abused by two men as a child is setting up a charity to support other survivors.
Sue Adey with her husbandSue Adey with her husband
Sue Adey with her husband

Sue Adey, from Hastings, was abused by her school teacher when she was 12 and by a family friend when she was 13.

She reported the abuse in 2016 and both her abusers were handed jail terms.

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However, Sue, who has waived her right to lifelong anonymity, said she was never given a safe space to talk about the abuse she experienced and does not want to see other survivors suffer the same fate.

In her mission statement, she said she wants her charity One Voice Foundation to: open barriers which survivors of childhood sexual abuse face in reporting historic crimes; be a safe place to talk; accompany survivors to appointments and/or court hearings as required; educate the next generation of the dangers of cyber crime, to be able to identify grooming and how to report such incidents to enable them to remain safe at all times; and campaign for law changes to benefit the survivors.

Sue said: “The law is out of date with respects to survivors of child sex abuse.

“Once they report it to the police, they can’t speak to anyone about it or discuss it with a counsellor. I will be campaigning for a change in the law to help survivors.

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“I will be here if people want me. If just to accompany them to meetings or whatever, then I will be there for them.”

Sue said she has been amazed by how many people have stepped forward to help her after announcing plans to start her own charity.

She added: “This charity is going to be big. I am not going to stop until people know about the One Voice Foundation.

“In the future, I want to give myself totally to One Voice.

“It will not be good and I won’t be seen to be doing my job if I am doing it part time so I am just waiting for the day to come.

“I want to give my life to this now.”

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Sue is now in the process of raising £5,000 to achieve charitable status.

On October 31, she is inviting her supporters and anyone who wants to join, to take part in a ‘sleep-a-thon’ at Hastings Castle after obtaining permission from Blue Reef.

To support Sue, search ‘Halloween Spook-atThon’ into justgiving.co.uk or email [email protected].

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