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When you have been abused, you do not know what love really means. All you know is abuse and terror. When people do eventually show love, it is difficult to understand why. Love does not make sense to an abused child. Did you know that? Trust is another challenge; it is so hard to trust anybody. Having been abused myself, I found it very difficult to trust anybody, even my parents. Not being believed was another concern - I was afraid that I would never be believed. This fear grew even more when I had to give evidence in court. Even the lawyers did not believe me until I exposed all the injuries on my head, having to remove my wig. There were over eight of them. It was shocking. But there is hope for an abused victim. You can live again…
I am a survivor of horrific, grievous bodily harm and child abuse. I have over sixty injuries and scars all over my body. There are six on my face and eight on my head which are visible to the naked eye, all at the hands of my parents, most especially my mother.
I have been very resilient over the years, carrying the wounds, the pain and heartache, but through it all, I have been able to forgive my parents and move on with my life. I don't consider myself a victim but a victor. My faith in God has played a major role in my recovery from abuse. 'Having suffered abuse doesn't mean you have to be an abuser yourself' is my motto.
I have written other books and raise awareness about child abuse and its impact later on in life. Many lives have been damaged and broken as a result of child abuse. Many have, sadly, even lost their lives.
I am still alive. I have been able to get an education and study up to Doctorate level, thus proving that it is possible to move on with life, despite being abused.
I pray for this book to help millions of people all over the world, to rise up from broken and shine again. I am happily married to David, and we both have six children.
I am also responsible for Adverse Childhood Experiences-ACEs recovery workshops, helping build resilience and emotional regulation in young people. These workshops can take place within school or within the after school curriculum. It takes place for two hours a week, where recovery is step by step. It is great to see positive results.
I have had a few radio and TV interviews:
2011
Dr Lydia Taiwo will be interviewed on Premier Radio tomorrow at 11.20am for the Woman to Woman show - she'll be talking about the second installment of her memoirs A Broken Childhood and her campaigning work around child abuse issue.
2015/16 BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-33689761/child-beating-cases-go-to-court-unnecessarily
2018 BBC
https://www.facebook.com/djamedia/videos/uk-lydia-taiwo-secures-convictions-against-her-parents-for-years-of-abuse/311399153041088/
2019 UCB
https://hi-in.facebook.com/ucbmedia/posts/have-you-experienced-child-abuse-ruth-speaks-to-dr-lydia-taiwo-to-find-out-her-s/10156689311408264/
