'I want my sexual abuse story to help others speak out'

A man who shared how he was sexually abused by his step-grandfather said he hoped that publicly telling his story "gives people permission to share their stories too".

Perry Power, from Ashtead, in Surrey, revealed on TikTok in 2018 that he had been abused as a child, later finding out that his father had also been abused by his step-grandfather, who has since died.

Power began to share his story after the death of his father from a heart attack in 2017, at which point he found out his father was also abused.

"It's something you keep behind closed doors but this story gives people permission to share their stories too," he said.

"It opens up a doorway for people to say, 'yes, me too'."

Power added: "I realised that there were other people who have been through the same thing.

"It seems like the more I share, the more it helps people to break their silence."

Videos on his social media accounts documenting his story have received millions of views across Instagram and TikTok.

He has since gone on to become a public speaker and has written a book.

He is now hoping to produce a feature film documenting his story.

Neil Henderson, chief executive of the sexual abuse support charity Safeline, said "Loads of barriers prevent male survivors from discussing abuse.

"The narrative is that males don't get abused, they victimise, and there's also masculine norms that stop people from speaking out.

"When you get someone like Perry who is prepared to stand up and speak out in the way he has been doing, it has an incredible impact on a lot of other male survivors."

Henderson added that about 30% of the people Safeline support are male, and that the average time for male child sex abuse victims to come forward and speak about their experience is around 28 years.

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