Jane* always saw her seven-year-old daughter Mercy* as quiet and reserved. "She never used to speak for herself or express her feelings," she recalls. "I assumed that's just how she was."
However, she discovered the real reason why her daughter was so withdrawn when she went upstairs one evening and witnessed Mercy being sexually abused by a male member of her extended family, someone Jane had trusted to babysit many times. "I was in so much pain. I wanted to kill him," says Jane, who went to the police the following morning. Her daughter was interviewed, but no charges were brought due to lack of evidence. Jane was left wondering whether the police believed her or not.
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