Tracey sits down with her relative Amelia Thorpe. Amelia is a wife, mother to three daughters, educator, advocate for social justice, childhood sexual abuse survivor and blog author. https://ameliathorpe.blog/

Amelia Thorpe, with a profound sense of inner strength, unveils in this episode, her tortuous experience as a mother in this harrowing story of one family’s journey to justice following the years of sexual abuse all three of her and her husband Brad's daughters survived in a home day care.

Amelia writes:

My husband and I have been blessed with three magnificent daughters. For the first ten years of our parenting life, we thought we were nailing it. Our children were polite, respectful, creative, active and well-adjusted. What we didn't know was that they were hiding a deep secret from us, one that would irrevocably change our lives forever. In 2013, my husband and I uncovered the extent of the lie that we had been living for an indeterminate period of our lives as parents. A man whom we trusted had been performing sexual acts on our children for a number of years…and we had no idea. Over the years since, we have tried to create a “new normal” for our family. This “new normal” still consists of work, school and of course being a taxi driver for after school activities. But, it also includes incontinence, nightmares, visits to the police station and court house, weekly counseling sessions, and suicide attempts. It’s been a persistent effort to keep upbeat, when at times everything just feels broken. Our “journey to justice” was long and arduous. The trial nearly broke our already broken children. We have a system where everyone is made to be accountable; their character and professionalism questioned; except for the accused. Four weeks and three days after we began in court, the defendant was found guilty. He was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months. Our children are doing life. Whilst life, at times, has been difficult for us to navigate as a family, I do know that my girls will grow up to be strong, resilient and beautiful women. They will continue to feel a sense of solidarity with other survivors who, like them, have given a voice to the voiceless and said no to abuse. I am not happy to let an antiquated legal system continue to perpetuate abuse on the most vulnerable. But trying to affect change has not been easy. I am excited to be part of Open Stance in an effort to highlight the truth, celebrate survivors and remove the shame that has for too long been part of the narrative of abuse survivors. Lots of love, Amelia