Holly Alex

Author of I Thought You Cared
Advocate & Campaigner
Peer Support Worker
CSA & CSE Survivor | Of Edinburgh City Council

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

https://t.co/NH6H4BYaIa

[Alison Dickie @AlisonMBDickie]

#PE1979 petitioners are pleased to note that @Edinburgh_CC have offered their full support for our petition’s key calls - to establish an independent national whistleblowing office for education and children’s services and to independently investigate allegations relating to the mishandling of child abuse and safeguarding concerns by public bodies.

This follows a successful Full Council motion in March, submitted by Cllrs Doggart and Mowat, and petitioners writing to the CE and Councillors to raise serious concerns about past and present child safeguarding matters in Edinburgh.

In February, the petition again received the cross-party support of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, who continued it into the new parliament to be ‘rigorously pursued’.  It will now be considered by the newly formed Public Petitions Committee and the Council are also writing to the Convener to communicate their support.

In our communications with the Council, and in meetings with newly elected MSPs, petitioners continue to highlight that this is a national petition informed by whistleblowers (in their broadest sense) from right across Scotland.

This includes families, former and current staff and others who have raised the mishandling of child abuse concerns – with all experiencing a negative impact on their health, careers and lives for doing so.  Importantly, it includes CSA & CSE survivors who have been further traumatised by the mishandling of their disclosures.

Petitioners believe the calls will help address the existing power imbalance, amplify the voice of whistleblowers and survivors and limit the conflicts of interest and marking of one’s own homework that thrives at public body, multi-agency and even national strategic group and inquiry levels.

Ultimately, it is considered that independent investigation of the cases, and the common threads across them, will best establish the child safeguarding truth, provide greater confidence in the personnel and systems in place, and better keep children in Scotland safe. 

Ahead of the Petitions Committee’s consideration post the summer recess, petitioners will continue to help the voice of whistleblowers and survivors to be better heard, including those from Edinburgh who still reach out to our group for support.
#childsafeguarding #whistleblowing #childrensrights
https://t.co/dtRemhM1Pg

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

Thank you @DuncanLibDem, thank you for your words, thank you for sharing Tonys story. Thank you for speaking the truth about the care experienced and our current looked after young people. From a care experienced person who the system destroyed and failed for many years.

[Chris Wild @ccwild79]

I've had hundreds of conversations with survivors of sexual abuse in children's residential care. The heartbreaking reality is that so many of these incredible people are still too afraid to come forward and tell their stories. They're terrified they won't be believed, won't be taken seriously, or that speaking out will open a can of worms they simply can't face.

I know that fear because I've lived it.

My own experience in care was horrific. Skircoat Lodge Children's Home was run with an iron fist, and paedophiles destroyed children's lives. Some of those responsible are still walking free today because victims and survivors haven't had the support, protection, or justice they deserve.

That has to change.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@StorrieBill

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

As a survivor of child sexual exploitation, trafficking, and group-based abuse, I’ve stayed quiet on a lot of what’s being said online recently.

In this video, I’m sharing an opinion that some people may disagree with. That we’ve started focusing more on narratives than on victims.

I talk about why grooming gangs are defined by the crime, not the ethnicity of offenders, why some survivors feel their experiences are being overlooked, why inquiries take time, and why survivors should be cautious about who they share their stories with.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about safeguarding, accountability, and making sure every survivor is seen, heard, and taken seriously.

If you’re willing to listen to a survivor’s perspective, I’d appreciate you watching with an open mind. #GroomingGangs #scotland #CSA #survivor

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

Oh no absolutely I do, I actually did comment just the other day to a couple of media outlets. That the statutory public inquiry is important, and if the scope allows , that the children and young people who didn’t fall under the bracket of “looked after” must be allowed to tell their stories. Im sorry for the battles you still have to face ♥️

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@safewordsorg No problem ☺️

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

Thank you lovely, unfortunately I knew this would be disliked by some people, but I stand by what I said, my post is about survivors and not what others are trying to turn it into. I’m grateful to yourself and others who actually listened to the topic I discussed and not the topic they have imagined I have discussed.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@eerygarden Ok 👍

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@eerygarden Exactly what I said, my post is about survivors not politics.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@tradcuckcope Another uneducated person i see.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

Thank you and yes 100% to what you highlighted aswell.

I’ve had plenty of people attack me, send hostile messages, and argue with positions I never actually took, so it’s refreshing when someone takes the time to understand the point being made rather than the point they imagined was being made.

I really appreciate your support.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@justiceformahin @claire_adams694 I have to admit I’m not educated on that, I genuinely do try and stay out of a lot that goes on here on X, I’m from Scotland, and we are now only being listened too, so have decided to speak out more. Thank you for the support.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@justiceformahin @claire_adams694 Not the only person I have had to block tonight, I feel like many people haven’t even watched the video or they have and haven’t listened to a word I said. 🤷‍♀️

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@jaegerartist88 Again, not the topic of my discussion.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

Well your on my post I’m talking about survivors feeling concerned that there stories are not being listened too because of the misrepresented use of the word “grooming gangs” your topic is something separate from mine. I’m afraid I don’t work in immigration so the YOU part has nothing to do with me. I’m just a survivor highlighting an issue that has arose. Have a great evening.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@jaegerartist88 I’m not talking about that report.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

A clarification regarding my use of air quotes around the phrase “grooming gangs.”

The air quotes were around the phrase, not the crimes. I was discussing the term “grooming gangs” as a political and media label, and how its meaning is sometimes contested, broadened, or used in ways that differ from its original meaning. The air quotes were intended to signal that I was discussing the term itself, not expressing disbelief in the existence of grooming gangs or the crimes committed by them.

To be absolutely clear, I am not distancing myself from the reality of grooming gangs, nor am I denying that they exist. My point was that the term is sometimes used inaccurately or inconsistently in public debate, and that was the subject of my discussion.

I would also like to make clear that this is not an abstract issue for me. I am a survivor of grooming and sexual abuse myself. Some of my perpetrators were men of Asian ethnicity, although I do not know their specific ethnic backgrounds. Hence why I use the term “Asian” I was also abused by white men. My experience has never led me to deny the reality of these crimes. Rather, it has made me concerned with discussing them accurately and honestly, regardless of the ethnicity of the perpetrators involved.

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@claire_adams694 I don’t think you are reading my replies, I’m not going to explain myself 400 times if you can’t be bothered to understand what is being written in English

[Holly Alex @HollyAlex_o]

@claire_adams694 The question was answered, it can be used in several different concepts, thus mine being in this particular context. I do distance from them term when it’s used incorrectly.