Recently I was invited to speak at a fundraising event for the Moira Anderson Foundation (MAF), and to learn all about the incredible work they do.

I’m sure many people reading this will be aware of Moira’s story. She was from Coatbridge and was last seen on February 23, 1957. Moira was only 11 years old, she had left her family home to get some shopping, and was never seen again.

In 2012, the missing persons case in Moira’s name was upgraded to a murder investigation. MAF was set up in 2000 in her honour, to help people of any age or gender who need support following childhood sexual abuse (CSA). They offer free counselling for survivors and their family, and they also provide multi-disciplinary “Safe Hands” training to schools, local authorities and organisations to help prevent, identify and mitigate abuse as and when it can occur.

When it comes to reporting CSA, the criminal justice system is not often best equipped to facilitate comfort for survivors. Police stations are austere and stark places which are often not conducive to making children feel as though they are in a safe and familiar environment. As part of their services, MAF provides a comfortable, neutral space within which survivors can give statements and provide evidence. Of course, the collection of evidence is essential to a successful prosecution, but it is also important to ensure that further trauma is not caused through the process.

We will never know just how many children in our communities have experienced, are experiencing or will experience sexual abuse. Those who perpetrate CSA do so in secret, often relying on survivors' isolation, shame, or inexperience. It is not only prevention, but identification of abuse that is essential to combatting CSA and the harm it causes within our communities.

CSA has been shown to have a potentially lifelong detrimental impact on survivors’ physical and mental health. It is reported by IICSA (Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse) that the rate of attempting suicide by survivors of CSA is as high as six times greater than that of the general public. Part of trying to mitigate the damage caused by these crimes involves ensuring we guarantee support for survivors which is effective, immediate and has no financial barriers. Unfortunately as with many aspects of healthcare, it is all too often left up to external charitable organisations like MAF to serve our communities and ensure that survivors get the help and support they deserve.

The support that MAF provides to survivors helps them not only to heal, but in some cases go on to help others who have experienced abuse. Matthew McVarish, a former client of MAF, has not only become a global ambassador for the charity, but through the Brave Movement, a group of survivors, has also gone on to advocate across the world for better awareness, more compassionate legislation and recognition of the impact of sexual abuse worldwide.

Demonstrating how prevalent negative attitudes about men who experience sexual assault really are, in some of the countries Matthew has visited, he reports being the first male survivor to openly discuss the abuse he experienced as a child.

Read more

Lennie Pennie: An appeal on domestic abuse: put yourself in our shoes

Lennie Pennie: Fans take note – celebrities have a right to privacy too

Listening to Matthew, it is clear that sexual abuse is not only a global issue but it is one where the level of support can vary drastically depending on where it occurs. This was reiterated in an incredibly striking way when Matthew told me, “There’s nothing fortunate about being sexually abused, but having worked with survivors across six continents, I now appreciate that I was fortunate to be sexually abused in Scotland, because survivors here have access to organisations like MAF, free and specialised support to help regain their lives”.

Many countries do not appropriately legislate on sexual abuse and rape, particularly to account for male survivors, something which unfortunately contributes to the global stigma surrounding men and boys who have been assaulted.

One of the key points Matthew raises is the benefits to abolishing a statute of limitations on CSA. Many people, particularly children who experience sexual abuse, feel a great deal of shame and guilt. They believe either that the abuse is or was their fault, or that by telling someone else about the abuse they will get either themselves or the perpetrator in trouble.

It is this shame, this guilt, alongside myriad other reasons, that can preclude people from coming forward and reporting crimes which have been committed against them, and depending on the legal system of the country within which they have been abused, in the time it takes survivors to feel comfortable reporting their experiences, their window for justice has closed.

In his book, The Truth That No one Tells Teenagers, Matthew explains that he was inspired to write by a young survivor who contacted him after seeing him openly discussing the abuse he and his brothers experienced. The book serves both as practical advice on how to go about accessing support and help, but also as an honest, yet hopeful reflection on Matthew’s own experiences and the lessons he has learned.

Because the book draws on lived experience it is profoundly compassionate and helpful resource not only for young people who have experienced CSA, but also for those in their lives, or indeed anyone who wants to make themselves more aware of how best to help and support CSA survivors.

The work that MAF does has helped countless survivors and their families not only to report their experiences, but to put them firmly on the path to healing, helping to rebuild their sense of self and safety.

Based for almost 25 years in Airdrie, MAF is a national charity and serves well beyond the local community where Moira's story began. In the past year MAF have been able, thanks to the support of The Glasgow Community Fund and fundraising, to open a hub in Glasgow, expanding their services and extending their range nationally.

They are only able to continue meeting the needs of an increasing number of clients and to carry out the essential work they do due to donations they receive, so if you are in a position to support them, please consider giving your time, or money.

Moira’s legacy is one of hope, and healing; it is in her name that so many children and families have received the care and support they need during the most unimaginably difficult circumstances. I’ll leave the last word up to MAF, who say on their website, “If you have been a victim of childhood sexual abuse and you need to talk to someone, we are here for you, and we are listening.”

For more information, visit moiraanderson.org and to donate, https://checkout.justgiving.com/8s2sm3am80