Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1358

Tonight's special guest is Alexander (Sandy) Smith from Bridge Of Weir, Renfrewshire, Scotland, a survivor of physical and sexual abuse who today gives support to other survivors. "At the age of eight years of age I was raped and beaten in an orphanage," says Sandy. "I kept my secret hidden for almost 50 years until I could take no more and tried to commit suicide (taking all my hidden secrets to the grave with me). But thankfully my plan did not work and my life was saved." The secret he kept began to effect his life dramatically. "After being abused my school work started to decline badly and depression started to takeover my life." he says. He tried to accept what had happened to him at the orphanage but he could never forget. As life progressed he was embarrassed, frightened and depressed. "I would not go to work and even my own wife at that time and my own son thought of me of just being lazy but still I kept my secrets locked away until one day after I found my wife cheating on me with another man." Memories of his childhood came flooding back and he tried to end his life. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital instead and spent seven months there rebuilding his life. "Today I am a much stronger person," he says. He divorced and re-met his childhood sweet heart, Jane, after losing touch for almost 50 years. "I also now give my full support to victims of child abuse." He launched 'Justice For Children' and has about three and a half thousand friends there. "Many of these friends being the little warriors of abuse of yesterday .. and who are the survivors of today."