An Invisible Child by
Jo Evans
pbk out November 04
(Book Guild)
at £8.95
Between the ages of ten and twelve, Jo Evans was abused by her
headmaster, a friend of her parents. The family continued to socialise
with him after Jo partially disclosed the abuse. Relentless, he even
attempted to touch her at her first wedding, only backing off when one of
her sisters intervened.
After forging a happier second marriage, Jo attempted to put the past
behind her - but one day she saw her abuser grinning at her from the
television. The programme praised his achievements in education for
which he'd been given an OBE.
It was time for the former victim (now age thirty four) to become a
survivor and she did so admirably, contacting her local child protection
unit which subsequently put her in touch with the authorities. When the
story was leaked to the media, a score of other former pupils contacted
the police to tell their own stories of ill-treatment at this man's hands.
An Invisible Child goes on to explain how the author was let down by the
legal system which, incredibly, failed to impose a custodial sentence - but
at least her abuser pleaded guilty and was put on the Sex Offenders
registrar and had his OBE taken away.
My only criticism of this book is that, at 85 pages, it's very short: I read it
at one sitting. But it's a well written, honest and balanced read about the
way our society fails its children by ignoring or minimising abuse.
An Invisible Child by
Jo Evans
