"I'd been weighed down by a secret for 57 years. That was too much for a small child to carry so far on her own... and for too long."
These are the words of an anonymous survivor of child sexual abuse, one of more than 6,200 across England and Wales who shared their stories with the Truth Project since the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse launched its pilot in Liverpool in 2015. For one in ten, it was the first time they'd ever told anyone about their abuse. The survivor continued: "The Truth Project helped me realise that it was not too late to set that burden down, and that it wasn't mine to carry."
Looking for a location outside of London to run its pilot, the Truth Project picked Liverpool where sessions with 20 participants were hosted by Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services (LCVS). Helen Ryan, head of the project, said: "We needed something that was neutral, that wasn't a church or school, which can maybe trigger people."
