Volunteering Survivor

Volunteered for 30 years. Caught up in a malicious and/or false allegation of historical abuse and cast out by my organisations without a second thought.

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

Surely referring to the complainants as ‘victims’ prejudices the whole case. Nothing has been proved yet. ⁦@SkyNews⁩ ⁦@duponline⁩ ⁦@SirjeffreyDUP⁩ ⁦@ChiefConPSNI⁩ ⁦@AccusedToo⁩ Never trust the justice system in these cases. https://t.co/ZJHpYYH9zu

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

Big mistake ⁦@duponline⁩ to have blind faith in the criminal justice system. ⁦@SirjeffreyDUP⁩ will need all the help he can get. Safeguards that might have protected him have long since been swept away.⁩ ⁦⁦⁦@FalselyAccusedD⁩ https://t.co/j6Xz4ZAk6B

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

You should be ashamed by this statement. Blaming the local volunteers fails everyone as does failing to recognise your part for 5 years. @matthyde get a grip of your organisation or resign. Today @scouts does all youth organisations and their volunteers an injustice.

[Scouts @scouts]

Keeping young people safe from harm is our number one priority at Scouts and we are committed to learning from any mistakes. Please follow the link to read our response to the Great Orme Inquest.
https://t.co/eWvK5hQfjq

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

So the CPS’s own research suggests only around 1/3 of people think false allegations are rare and nearly 1/5 think they are common. Will this signal a change in the blatantly biased #believethevictim mantra? ⁦@FACTukorg⁩⁩ ⁦@FASOorg⁩ https://t.co/9Ju5Uyn18V

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

An extreme case but the phenomenon is not rare. Many allegations are confused or mistaken. I am sure the complainant in my case had been attacked, but not by me. The scandal was that, with no real evidence, the police persecuted me. ⁦@FACTukorg⁩ https://t.co/cB8pl04ibq

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

Oh yes please! Just an unbiased investigation of the facts. That is what I was expecting and would have been happy to comply. What I experienced was a complete disregard for anything that might have disproved the police assumptions. Horrific. @FASOorg @FACTukorg

[Roger the Policeman @RogerthePolice]

This should be compulsory viewing for all lawyers, police officers & others with investigatory powers, to drive home the importance of being inquisitive, fair & open-minded & their duty to prevent miscarriages of justice.
https://t.co/ffCMGeH6Tt

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

@tonydowney67 @nickwallis Investigators seem to care little for the truth or indeed anything that undermines the allegation when there is pressure to secure convictions. It destroys lives. Thoughts are with all those affected. @FACTukorg @FalselyAccUK

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

@tonydowney67 @nickwallis Just started watching this. I shared some of the details of this nightmare at the time. It has great resonance with those wrongfully accused in the teaching/caring professions. Others cannot know what it is like for the entire weight of the state to come crashing into your life.

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

There is a difference between stretched resources and sheer incompetence. This is not a justice system any of us should be proud of. ⁦ https://t.co/8SGx5b78cH

[Sound Man @Patofminch]

I knew one senior police officer who resigned after his objections to the "believe the victim" policy were ignored.
Decent police officers knew it was wrong.
Kier Starmer believed it would win him the Feemenist vote.
(Track the thread back)
Thanks Brian.

[SpokenInjustice @SpokenInjustice]

It was truly an honour to attend a well orchestrated conference hosted by @FACTukorg. Bearing witness to the profound challenges Brian faced, as well as connecting with long-time advocates: Michael Naughton, Dennis Eady, Margaret Gardener
@FASOorg @EmpowerInnocent @CU_Innocence

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

Five years on and this list still applies in full for me. People don’t believe it happens and we don’t want to believe. We want to trust the system. Best advice I got on day one: don’t think for one minute the police are seeking the truth. What they need is proof of guilt.

[@TheNotSoSecretDefendant @thesecretdefen1]

Psychological effects of false accusations:

Fear
Anxiety
Resentment
Anger
Hyper-vigilance
Stress
Behaviour changes
PTSD
Depression
Humiliation

The shock level alone is immense enough. Because you never think it can happen to you.

Until it does.

⚖️

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

@NormanBrennan If only the police would investigate without fear or favour. @KHarveyProctor and others (including me) will tell you that may not be the case. @thesundaytimes used a disturbing line: Complainants ‘felt ready to speak only after being approached by reporters’. @FACTukorg

[FACT @FACTukorg]

We too welcome this inquiry. Let's hope that this signifies a significant change in the attitude of the criminal justice system and a long overdue realisation that miscarriages of justice do happen and can wreck the lives of innocent men and women.

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

This is not just about failure of the system but the whole approach by these institutions. #believethevictim has totally undermined the process of justice. ⁦In my case police dismissed anything that didn’t fit the guilty narrative. @FACTukorg⁩ https://t.co/IhjPOWWHbt

[FACT @FACTukorg]

The victim of a wrongful allegation, together with their family &friends may go through different stages following the trauma of a false allegation. The coping strategies that have been found helpful vary according to the individual &the stage they are at. https://t.co/wEvMuM5hmo

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

@PiersUncensored @piersmorgan @TalkTV There are hundreds of wrongful allegations. ‘False’ may suggest malicious intent which is not always the case. Mine was police more ineptitude. The ‘victim’ never identified me but police didn’t care. Not even charged and years later suicide is still a regular consideration.

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

@lizyeld @scouts @FASOAdvice @falseclaimskill @juliehealy67 @areRuiningLives We may not be sure he didn’t do it. But we certainly do not know that he did. @scouts don’t encourage this behaviour. The claim is that you ignored their complaints in 2016. I cannot believe that for one minute knowing how paranoid all youth organisations are about this now.

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

Shocking reporting tonight by @itvnews. @scouts leader in Wales accused on national television of abuse with no way of defending himself. He took his own life prior to @CPSUK charging decision. Newscaster did at least correct herself by calling them “alleged victims”. @FACTukorg

[Volunteering Survivor @VolunteeringSu1]

@lizyeld @scouts @FASOAdvice @falseclaimskill @juliehealy67 @areRuiningLives @scouts I beg you not to just settle. They do not need to prove beyond reasonable doubt it happened in their action but think about thousands of volunteers who give their lives to scouts. Even multiple statements from those who will financially gain is not corroborative evidence.