Archives: Stories

nm3gyQwsPgidaz7hD8lSJwCrI

I was a venture scout and when I helped the leader with younger scouts he touched my breasts. I was over 16 and he is now dead and I was in a first aid demonstration.

It was because of scouting that I went drinking with him and the last time i did I woke at his house to find he was undressing me. I went back to his house having had a drink on many occasions and I believe he got me drunk on purpose.

I saw him on the odd occasion in the years following but I felt a bit afraid I might see him. I didn’t report it in 1987 because I had been drinking and I was 19 then.

A scout leader in the 1980s locked the door of the scout hut and my relative could not get in and he left scouts. The leader also had had a drink while the scouts were there.

8kornu5wPjNhzSIjnjBkzVB48

My daughter has attended scouts since she was a tot, she went with her dad who was a leader.
Me and her dad split up in 21. In 22 her scout leader attempted to add her to Instagram, I challenged him via email and he innocently said he didn’t realise it was my daughter, it was obvious to anyone who knew her, within the hour he had changed his picture to one of not him.
I contacted scouts and police to report. I chased scouts for 46 days. During that time he was allowed access as normal, he once sat VERY close to my daughter, who was 12, asking her leading questions about her home life and if I was the one who picked her up etc.
She came home and told me, again I reported it. Again I was told it was nothing.
In November the GSL visited me at home, without asking and told me I was making the leader uncomfortable, ruining a good mans reputation and he didn’t acknowledge the complaint and didn’t want to as I was ‘known for causing trouble’ due to my ex. The leader was allowed back as he had done nothing wrong.
My daughter was made to change nights. Yet they often combined the nights and she had to see him and talk to him, was reprimanded for refusing to be in his group, told not to talk to anyone about what happened and that he was a good leader. In early 23 he ran a camp, he specifically messaged me and told me my daughter was in his group, I pulled her out.
In June 23 he assaulted a fellow girl scout. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison in October 23. I once again complained to scouts, they have taken a whole year to respond to my complaint, the report admits they were aware before of issues and didn’t do a thing, even at one point acknowledging risk of emotional harm to my daughter, yet we’re more concerned about damage to their reputation.
They covered for this man, time and time again, there are potentially 7 other girls and they haven’t even bothered to identify them. The GSL knew and was allowing this man access to vulnerable kids.
I am appealing the complaint as I believe this is deeper than they admit

1eIDFNWbAehSeyFIq8ISUeeht

My son (8) and his fellow cubs have been bullied and humilated at meetings and at camp, while at ******************. There have also been Safeguarding issues when 2 cubs were left on their own at an unscheduled trip out. I was an parent leader. When I complained to the Safeguarding team of the repeated poor treatment of the children. They returned it to the local team who brushed it under the carpet siting they would just offer more training, but were unable to say when this would take place. They also banned parent leaders. I have also complained about the outcome of the complaint but have been ignored and now myself and my son have been kicked out of the cub group.

38PbUJY1HxtqyRl0uc9ASjfsl

My parents were high up in scouts so I spent my entire childhood at every single event possible until I was 18 and could finally say no to them and I stopped going . Not long after I was on tinder with my friends and they were swiping for me just messing around , they must have swiped right on a guy that turned out to be my old cub and scout leader who then sent me a barrage of messages saying that he was so shocked I would like him and that he’s fancied me for years (essentially admitting he was attracted to me as a child) he made comments about how he watched me developing into a beautiful woman and enjoyed seeing my body changing. It made me totally sick to my stomach and I blocked him. I told my mom he sent me creepy messages and she brushed it off saying I’m an adult now and I deleted everything so can’t do anything about it, but it just made me think about how many other girls he was watching over the years.

fZhSP5JisDmfn91Nl0URD0h4A

lmRCvv4GpqgSAE6d39bSGFN7M

My ex husband was a Cub Scout leader in the late 60’s and early 70’s in a pack while he was serving in the xxx in xxx. I discovered later that the xxx had dealt with him 4 times for peadophilia with boys around 8+. Prior to being a cub leader in mid 60’s while stationed in Location 1, in Location 2 in the 60’s after that, again in Location 3 whilst a cub leader, which he suddenly resigned from, and again, not then a cub leader, in the 70’s in Location 4. The latter because by then I’d got my suspicions and reported him to the civilian police. Who again merely warned him off. He had always been violent towards me, but I couldn’t deal with what I suspected, correctly, he was up to. I was in real fear of my life when I reported him, but like a lot of bullies he then ran away abroad. I’d got two young children, I was always concerned that he would assault my son. Fortunately there was no further contact with him and I divorced him. I have no doubt that he would have continued with his behaviour and I always felt frustrated that he was getting away with it time and time again, but there was nothing else I could do after reporting him to the police.

Ff5655KqGEn3rKYrGWaTrff2o

Recently I had to make a referral to the LADO about beavers group that I had attended as a helper with my children. I raised several concerns about the inappropriate comments, behaviour, comments, and practice of the adults who were facilitating a group of children aged 5-7 years. I initially had reported my concerns to the Safeguarding Team of this organisation and was surprised that my concerns were referred to a volunteer to deal with. The response I received from this individual was defensive, dismissive, and rude. Moreover, this heightened my concerns as this person stated that children make things up and said it was my word against the leader. To say as a parent that I was alarmed and disturbed is an understatement. I should add that I am a qualified social worker and pointed this out to the deputy commissioner who told me I was just a member of the public. This was only last month and I have removed my children. The LADO made them investigate but they still have these concening volunteers in place misusing their position.

LD1SDijb8CKptEkZF7uWZDNlg

When I was 13, one of the young leaders (he was somewhere between 19 and 23) took me in his tent at a camp and tried to have sex with me. I kept saying I didn’t feel comfortable/ok with what he was doing but he kept on going and was trying to convince me it was ok. I managed to get away from him by saying I needed to pee and I found my older brother and his friends and just stayed with them for the rest of the camp.

I didn’t tell anyone until I told my therapist almost 20 years later. But I still haven’t worked up the courage to report it. I’m scared I won’t be believed or people would think/say it was my fault or I “asked for it”.

The group in general was not safe for the few girls. There was a lot of sexually explicit/inappropriate conversation, underage drinking was encouraged, the communal tent on camps was called the “pleasure dome/tent” and with everyone crammed in, myself and the other couple of girls were always encouraged to sit on the leaders’ laps.

129CNj7m5phw9WrcBnq8PUWVw

What an amazing project. Thank you for this. My own story is from the 1960s or maybe early 1970s. A time that people say was ‘different’…turns out not so different. I was a cub scout in the ****** troop. It was well run with a kind akela. However, there was an odd man who seemed to be senior to everyone else, we only knew him as ‘*****’. He wore a tan scout uniform, mostly shorts, I remember his bare legs. He had a position of authority but none of us knew why or who he was. He would always appear at camps, but never seemed to have a role.
One camp, a friend and I came out in a rash. Akela thought it was a heat rash and would go away. ***** said it might be more serious, infectious even, and we should spend the night in his tent, just in case. My friend and I slept in a seperate ‘room’ in the tent. It was full of books and toys.
In the morning, ****** came into our ‘room’ with a washing up bowl full of water and a flannel. He said it was time for our morning wash. We stripped naked. I said I didn’t want a wash. ***** took my friend into a different compartment in the tent, and told me to read a book. I remember staring at the pages, unable to take anything in. I felt helpless, that something wrong might be going on, but I didn’t know what, and didn’t know what to do.
Many years later, this came back to me, in murky images and sensations. I don’t know if anything happened to me. But I do know I’m haunted by guilt, that I did nothing to help my friend. I have tried to find him online, but I can’t. I wanted to apologise and to ask him if anything had happened to me as well.
I was always terrified of camps after that. In those days we’d be sent away regularly in the holidays, to ‘adventure camps’ or cub camps. I hated every second, and would often just try to stay in my bed.
Years later, I contacted the Scouts about the incident. I got a placatory email saying that they cared and would look into it. I heard nothing. I’ve contacted them half a dozen times. I get an apology or a note saying there’s been a staffing change and the new team would look into it for me. But they just seem to be giving me the brush off. They did contact me and say they had no record of anyone called ***** ever having existed at all. For a moment I thought I’d dreamed the whole thing. But I didn’t.

h1nJEI6WtlDD5sStd6qIkvbJK

I was a scout at ****** between 1981 – 87. My abuser became a scout leader to solely groom boys some years younger than him, he was some 10 years older than myself & my contemporaries.

Leader X was a larger than life bear of a man, slightly intimidating to a 10 year old. My best mate & his family lived a couple streets from me, this where me & mum met Leader X in a social setting. Some several years previously I had been sexually abused at a holiday camp in Bognor Regis. Thankfully another survivor of the holiday camp abuser spoke out to their parents, he was arrested & jailed. I hadn’t spoken to anyone about this abuse until one night the Police knocked on the front door, I was watching Bucks Fizz ‘Land of make believe’ on Top of the Pops with my older brother. I’m telling you this as my mum was sharing this with my best mate’s family & Leader X became privvy to this secret of mine as he later mention knowing & offered friendship, mentorship & care. Very twisted insidious grooming.

With this knowledge Leader X went on to proposition me & my best mate, my best mate told his parents. Leader X was warned about his behaviour, I have no idea how he passed off the allegations to my mates dad but he had been warned. So now he picked out the vulnerable one, me.

Leader X joined the scouts as a leader, he even volunteered to help coach at my school rugby team. I couldn’t get away from him. He’d gained my mum’s trust which looking back I can’t understand as she was told by my best mates parents he’d propositioned me & my mate. Maybe she was vulnerable too being a single mother with two sons. I’m tired now & emotional while I write down this memories.

The physical & psychology abuse happened daily but the start of it was when I was trying to achieve a scout badge restoring a piece of furniture in his woodworking shed. He conveniently left porno mags out for me to browse, he then asked me to sit on his knee & encouraged me to touch myself & he touched also, I was frozen reverting to the mindframe of the smaller 6 year old at the holiday camp.

I can’t carry on right now but Leader X persued me at every opportunity to abuse me, after scout evenings, on scout trips, sleeping in our tents & touching me. After school he’d pick me & friends up drop them off 1st & then take me to his house. It was all the time until at 16 I moved to be with my Aunt & Uncle in Cornwall.

I know I wasn’t the only boy, in the early 2000’s I contacted ****** Police Station to report his actions. The end result was that CPS felt it was my word against his, although my best mate could testify to his behaviour & his also. But as time had past my mates parents were deceased. I don’t think he was the only abuser at my group, Leader Y was into photography & once asked another mate to take in shirt off for some photos but my mate declined & left.

I hope I feel some peace of mind some day but after 40 odd years I still struggle.

Trigger Warning