My parents were abusive: I took action. It was on the whole dealt with and now I am happily no-contact and have been for years and will be for the rest of my natural life. Going non-contact with abusive parents is the best psychological decision many people can make, I believe.

It was never information that should have been “in the public domain”.

It was a case for the family courts for a limited period of time until I was 18 – there was no reason for the media to turn it into a public situation with “opinions” and “denials”.

The media wanted to stalk me to ensure that the “story is permanently out there” with the possibility that I be “shamed” as a vindictive, attention-seeking liar with long suffering parents.

Or, a situation where I would self-define as a victim and that was how I would present myself to other people and that would be the first thing they knew about me.

(I never talk about my family situation to strangers simply as it’s irrelevant and if pushed will just say “they’re difficult and we don’t stay in touch”.

I’m not ashamed of anything, but I believe “abusive family” is a green light for creeps.

My experience is foster carers, social workers “women’s writers”, men who see themselves as “rescuers”: the kind of person drawn to women they feel are “vulnerable” all have fairly controlling, passive-aggressive personalities .

Strong legislation against child abuse is the way forward. What we don’t need are the kind of people who enjoy emotionally feeding off others pain to make up for their own deficiencies).

The media wanted the power of a kangaroo court, where they could over-ride what should have been a private family legal matter (“the public” could decide if I was faking or not depending on how many sob stories I agreed to give) and then claim they were running a HUMAN INTEREST STORY to RAISE AWARENESS.

And I think what wanted was for this to be the “dominant issue” in my life so they could draw energy and isolate me from engaging with mainstream life – the media wanted to take away any chance of having any authentic social experience in my 20’s.