At age 7-8 I was raped by a friend of the family. I didn’t tell anyone. Later I found out he’d raped my older sister too.

We took it to court. He was convicted of rape in my sister’s case and indecent assault in mine. I didn’t say it was rape at first because it had been such a traumatic occurrence in my life. Trying to get compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) made me confront it. The more I dealt with them the more I had to face up to what had happened. For years I’d have nightmares and at the moment of the attack I would force myself to wake up. Eventually it all resurfaced and pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle.

I applied for compensation and waited over a year for a reply. Then I appealed the first award of £2,000. It was an insult. I appealed a second time. The third time I was informed I could lose the £2,000 award but it was never about the money. For years I felt ashamed, weak and scared. CICA made me so angry that I had to fight back and try to take control of my life. I contacted CICA. They misinformed me on several occasions. I spoke to numerous solicitors and was told there was nothing I could do.

I called a rape counselling service with an answerphone message saying they were unable to accept any more clients. My doctor arranged an appointment with a counsellor. She said she didn’t counsel on rape. At which point I was ready to quit. Four years had passed. The rapist had been released early from his eight-year sentence.

I decided to go to Citizen’s Advice. A lady called 10 organisations. Eight out of the 10 had closed. One call to WAR and there was help straight away - not just by listening but by caring too.

They contacted a fantastic solicitor for me. CICA gave her two or three appeal dates and cancelled every time. She was also misinformed by CICA.

My hearing was a pantomime. Their solicitor was not from the real world. He made ridiculous statements such as "glandular fever makes a child moody and weepy". He didn’t understand the man had already been charged and sentenced for rape. He hadn’t prepared his case properly for my appeal. He even tried to call my psychiatrist’s statement into disrepute.

The conclusion to my appeal was they said they believed me, but awarded me only £6,700. My answer to this is a court had already believed my statement. They had judged me once again. It had taken years of turmoil, but I felt heard this time. It’s made me stronger and once again able to take control of me. I will never be able to forget, but now I sleep without nightmares.

I am no longer ashamed and life’s good. I owe a great deal to WAR for their compassion, help and dedication. It’s also a wake up call to how little help there is. This organisation should be given funding for this work, as they are sometimes a last chance for victims of rape.

Many thanks.