Latest news with #trauma
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain shares horrifying account of child sexual abuse at the hands of a relative when she was just five years old
Nadiya Hussain has shared a horrifying account of child sexual abuse at the hands of a relative in a new interview. The TV chef, 40, rose to fame in 2015 when she won the Great British Bake Off and in the years since has hosted several documentaries and cooking segments. But in an honest conversation with Paul C Brunson on Tuesday's We Need To Talk podcast, Nadiya shared heartbreaking details about her childhood. Nadiya spoke about being sexually assaulted aged just five years old by her cousin, and revealed why she has never spoken to her parents about it. 'As a five year old I was sexually abused by my own cousin and I didn't really know that that was sexual abuse until I was in my biology lesson in year eight and we were having we would it was a sex education class,' Nadiya said. 'And the penny dropped. I put the two together and I was like, that happened to me - and then I just… I remember vomiting profusely and my teacher said, "are you unwell?" And I said, "no, I'm fine". Nadiya spoke about being sexually assaulted aged just five years old by her cousin, and revealed why she has never spoken to her parents about it 'And that was it. Didn't tell the teacher, didn't say anything, just quietly… because this was a cousin that I was around all the time. 'He was there all the time, and he was in our house and he was upstairs, and he was everywhere. Paul asked: 'What was your family's reaction in hindsight, knowing that this was happening to you as a little girl?' Nadiya replied: 'We don't talk about it. Nobody talks about it. Nobody. But my sisters. I talk with my sisters. 'I can sit here and tell the whole world, but I cannot have that conversation with my mum and dad ever.' Elaborating on why she doesn't speak to her parents about the abuse, Nadia said: 'Would I like to… if they were different people, yeah. I know them too well, I know that, I know what I'd be met with. 'I live in a community where the men are protected. And to be fair, we live in a society where men are always protected. 'And I don't want anyone to say that it was my fault, because I think that's what I'm going to hear. And I think I don't want to hear that. 'As a five year old I was sexually abused by my own cousin and I didn't really know that that was sexual abuse until I was in my biology lesson in year eight and we were having we would it was a sex education class,' Nadiya said 'If I hear that, I lose it and I don't want to hear that. What I would hate to see is… I feel like I would be blamed and he would be protected, and I just can't dig that up.' Elsewhere in the chat, Nadiya went on to reveal that she received so many death threats while on Bake Off that producers moved into her home. 'Week nine of Bake Off, I had to have the production team live in my house because of the death threats. I had so many death threats. 'I had professional people sending emails, very graphic emails, about how they'd like me to die, how they would like to abuse me, how they wished that my children get TB and die slow and painful deaths.' She also revealed her children have experienced more racism at a younger age than she did growing up, as she . 'The first time I ever experienced racism was the day the Twin Towers came down,' Nadiya said. 'I was in college, I was 18, I was walking home and two white men stopped their van, parked up, screeched to a halt, came out, spat in my face and drove off, and I cried all the way home and I had no idea what happened. 'And I was sobbing and I came in and dad was watching the telly and I said Oh, this is what's happened. And it has never stopped since. 'But my kids have experienced more racism at a younger age because, you know, they've been called terrorists and they'll wear their Friday robes for Friday prayer.'
BBC News
5 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Moral injury storybook teaches families 'coping strategies'
The author of a storybook written to help families cope together after traumatising events says she hopes it will teach people "coping strategies".Dad's Moral Injury Cloud has been co-written by Dr Vicki Williamson, a senior lecturer in the University of Bath's department of psychology, for families affected by moral is the psychological distress that occurs when a person commits, fails to prevent or witnesses an act that goes against their moral Williamson said: "The thing we know about families where a parent has experienced trauma is that it's really difficult for parents to know what to say and how to speak to their children about it." She said the free book is the "first resource" for families affected by moral to Dr Williamson, about 70% of the population will experience a "traumatic or really difficult event" in their life less than 5% will be diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the "same is true for moral injury"."It's used to describe this very intense distress you can experience after an event that goes against your core values," she said."This may be experienced by people in the armed forces, police, prison service, healthcare or many other occupations that confront challenging situations." She said moral injury "typically occurs" either because of something you have done, you failed to do, or because of a betrayal by someone possibly in a position of authority. A vet putting down a healthy animal which is unable to race any more is one example of moral injury, she Williamson said parents can often feel a "lot of shame and a lot of guilt" around moral injury, and may withdraw from the people they love."They can struggle with anger, and controlling outbursts and they might be really worried about their children - they do overprotective parenting behaviour," she said."Our book provides a framework to talk about challenging experiences, difficult feelings and strategies so families can cope together."
BBC News
19 hours ago
- BBC News
Bristol domestic abuser left woman 'looking like a skeleton'
A woman has described how she was left in "permanent survival mode" and "looking like a skeleton" as a result of her former partner's controlling behaviour. The victim, who has not been named, said she had also been "embarrassed and humiliated in public" on "many occasions" by Cody Smith-Alwood, a statement read out on her behalf at Bristol Crown Court, she said the trauma she endured over years in their relationship meant she struggled to from St George in Bristol, was jailed in June for more than three years, after pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour, assault, four public order offences and breaching a restraining order against a second woman. In the statement, Smith-Alwood's ex-partner told the court she "constantly worried" he would carry out his threats of suicide and self-harm, leaving her in "permanent survival mode" and "unable to make the right choices"."Over years I spent with Cody, this has left me shaken to my core and I still struggle to come to terms with what has happened," she said. "Mentally, I am struggling to cope with the trauma. I find it difficult to trust others and am constantly worried about the possibility of something like this happening again." Stab threats While refusing to acknowledge the relationship was over, the court heard, Smith-Alwood spent long periods in the victim's home, controlled her phone – calling her constantly – and threatened to reveal confidential information about her. As a result of his manipulative behaviour, the victim said, she found it "difficult to trust others" and suffered physical symptoms that her doctor linked to trauma from the relationship. "The emotional and mental impact left me unable to eat and I lost a significant amount of weight," she said, adding that she had been left looking "like a skeleton". Smith-Alwood was arrested in November 2024, following an argument at Avonview Cemetery in which he made threats to stab his ex-partner's brother and his friend. He also threw his ex-partner over his shoulder, police said, which led to her grazing her knee. Even from prison, he persisted in contacting her in the run-up to his court hearing. He has now been served with a seven-year restraining order to protect her. Det Con Annabelle Reeves-Linney, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the case had been "extremely complex".She said: "I am glad that we have been able to finally give the complainant the justice and peace she deserves after a long, hard and exhausting battle with domestic abuse."
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Careless driving charge laid after crash sends 4 to hospital
One person has been charged after a collision in Tay Township over the weekend that injured four people, including one who was rushed to a trauma centre. The two-vehicle crash happened Sunday around 5 p.m. at the intersection of Vasey Road and Old Fort Road. Emergency crews rushed to the scene to find one person unconscious and three others injured. Police say a 65-year-old woman from Wasaga Beach was taken to an area hospital before being transferred to a trauma centre with serious injuries. The other three people were treated and released at a local hospital for minor injuries. Police say a southbound Rav4 Toyota crashed into a 1959 Pontiac Catalina as it travelled west on Vasey Road. Police charged with Toyota driver, a 47-year-old man from Richmond Hill, with with careless driving.
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
'Why can't they just say sorry?' say forcibly adopted Kent women
Two Kent women who were removed from their mothers when they were just weeks old and forcibly adopted say they need the government to formally apologise in order to help them recover from the trauma."Why can't they just say sorry? They haven't got the guts," said Helen Weston from Yalding who was taken from her 15-year-old mother when she was 12 days Paine, from Ashford, who was adopted at six weeks old, and was diagnosed with PTSD, says she just wants an acknowledgement of what happened to her.A demonstration is due to take place on Wednesday to urge the government to apologise to the hundreds of people forcibly adopted during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as well as their mothers. An inquiry by the human rights select committee, undertaken in 2021, looked at the experiences of children adopted across this period because their parents were either underage or not in July 2022, its report recommended a formal apology after finding that babies were taken from mothers who did not want to let them Welsh and Scottish governments have officially apologised to those affected by forced adoptions, but the UK government so far has not. 'Wracked with guilt' Ms Weston said: "If we get the validation then maybe my birth mother won't be so wracked with guilt and shame and keeping this dreadful secret."She was adopted in 1967 after her teenage mother was forced to give her up. She says it has had a profound impact on her life and was diagnosed with complex PTSD. "I'm not angry with anybody, I think that's why I get so depressed," she said."If there was one person I could be angry at, if one person was responsible, then I could give them a gob full and get rid of it."They genuinely thought they were doing the best for us." Ms Paine, who has also been diagnosed with complex PTSD, will be among those demonstrating in Westminster on Monday. She said: "We're all suffering from anxiety, we're all on antidepressants. "The apology would get the mental health support and that's really important."She said: "We want this to be recognised because they took me away from my mother. "I'm 63-years-old and it's still affecting my life." 'I wanted my real mum' Wednesday's protest has been organised by adoptee advocate Zara Phillips, and is supported by the Movement for an Adoption to the group, between 1945 and 1976 an estimated 215,000 women had their children taken away from them. A spokesperson for the group said: "We are all growing older and time is running out."We have been ignored by successive governments and now urgently need a public apology for this very personal and painful lifelong trauma."They said: "A public apology would help mothers and adoptees change the narrative around what was done to them. "It would acknowledge the injustice and the loss which will endure for the rest of their lives." Some adoptees say they feel like they do not belong in their adoptive families especially when their adoptive parents have their own birth children. Ms Weston said: "I was adopted into a family who had two children of their own, the dynamic with my adopted family was that I was always a problem child," said Mrs Paine echoed this sentiment, saying: "I told my mother that she never hugged me, but she said you never wanted me to, and I thought how can you say that, but of course I wanted my real mum." The Department for Education has been approached for a comment.
