Case Study: Erica’s Story

I grew up as the eldest child of seven, three girls and four boys. My father was strange, he was an alcoholic and beat my mother up all the time. I had to look after the children during these beatings, and afterwards, when my mum could hardly walk. I missed a lot of school because of having to care for my siblings. I was scared of my father, he always made sexual remarks to me. I never wore skimpy clothes in front of him. He never touched me sexually, but I was always scared he would. He was almost always drunk and aggressive. On the rare occasion he was sober, he was incredibly boring. My father never played with me or took me on trips, but he did teach me to brew alcohol with him from an age of five. I learnt from an early age to do what I was told. If I said no, my father would hurt me, and I would have to do what he said anyway. My dad called us his little half-breed slaves. He was from Poland and my mother was from Wales. We were really poor because my father spent all the money on alcohol and gambling. I hated school because I felt ashamed. We never had proper uniforms or enough food. We were always hungry, skinny and got laughed at a lot. When there was money my mum and I made sure the little ones got fed first and we would eat what was left over. My father also beat up my oldest brother a lot and told me: “If you don’t do what I say this will happen to you.”