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Child sex abuse victim forced into sex work at 14 just to eat

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Child sex abuse victim forced into sex work at 14 just to eat

A victim of child sexual abuse has revealed how she was forced into prostitution in order to eat food whilst living in a care home in Nottingham.

Claire Blake, 42, went into care at 11, and was placed at the Redcot unit in Beechwood children’s home in Nottingham, and was moved around various children’s home in the area. 

She appeared on This Morning in the aftermath of a recent independent inquiry that discovered how hundreds of children in the Nottingham area were sexually and physically abused by foster carers and residential care home staff. 

Claire was sexually abused from the age of 12, and in one home she had to resort to prostitution in order to eat, because children had to fight each other over the meagre rations of food available.

Child sex abuse victim Claire Blake recalled the horrific incidents that took place in the care homes she stayed in during her childhood

Claire was joined on the This Morning sofa by former detective turned child abuse campaigner Maggie Oliver

As she recalled the reason for her stay in care homes during the course of her childhood, Claire explained how she knew from a young age that the behaviour of those responsible for her, was wrong.

‘I’d only been in this care home a couple of weeks when my first incident happened. At the age of 11, I knew it wasn’t right what they were asking me to do,’ she said, revealing how male carers would watch her taking a bath.

Things got progressively worse when she had to ‘earn’ her food in another care home she was staying in.

As This Morning host Ruth Langsford questioned what made her turn to prostitution at the age of 14, Claire insisted that it ‘wasn’t a personal choice’.  

‘There was one place where if you wanted food you had to earn it. Some of the hones I was in, you had to basically fight other children to get food.

‘This one you had to earn what you were fed. It was either through shop lifting where people would give you lists to go to the shops, and you’d shop lift the items on the list and you’d get to eat. Or, males and females had the choice of prostitution.’

Claire went on to explain how there was a plan in place to allow young residents to sell themselves. 

‘There were codes if you wanted to go out that night. You asked to go to the cinema and somebody would drop you up, and then they would say, “Ring back in a couple of hours and someone will come and pick you up”. 

Claire revealed that she was 14 when she was forced into prostitution in order to eat in the care home she was living in at the time

Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford were left shocked when officials failed to do anything despite Claire running away so many times

‘They’d take us down and that was one part of my life where I kind of had control. I chose what I wanted to do.’

Despite running away numerous times, she was always taken back because nobody in authority would listen to her complaints. 

‘Because of the places we were in and the area at the time, we were put down as attention seeking, we were put down as trouble causers and promiscuous.’

At one point in her life, Claire revealed that she felt safer sleeping rough than in the care home. 

‘I ran away quite frequently. In Nottingham, there used to be a bus station that was central to traffic. I felt more comfortable sleeping in the 24 hours toilets. I actually felt more comfortable and safe locking myself in a toilet and stripping there to have a strip wash then I did at the care home because I knew the door was locked.’

Due to the nature of the abuse, Claire had been granted anonymity. However, she has since decided to waive it to speak out in the hope of giving others the courage to do the same in order to get justice.    

After Eamonn Holmes asked why she had decided to recall the years of torment, Claire responded: ‘I choose to let the people know because at the end of the day, people need to see faces, they need to see numbers not just statistics or references to children. 

Claire admitted that she felt safer sleeping rough than she did in the care home

Maggie praised Claire for speaking out in a bid to help others who may have been affected by child abuse

‘They need to see that the children are now adults and that we have voices that were silenced for so long. So many people haven’t come forward and I want them to know that it is OK, it is now a safe time and it’s the perfect time.’

During her time on the This Morning sofa, Claire was joined by former police detective turned child abuse campaigner Maggie Oliver who commended her for speaking out. 

‘She’s immensely brave in speaking out,’ Maggie said.

‘I think she’s carried this her whole lifetime. But by speaking out now, in my experience, it’s the first step in really healing. She know has a voice and she’s using it and will feel empowered by using that voice.’

Asked about what she would like to see happen to the people who committed the crimes, Claire simply stated that she wants them to face justice.   

‘They need to be held accountable. They need to be held responsible for everything they’ve done. They shouldn’t be able to hide behind the walls that are there protecting their names.’   

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