A WOMAN who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her father and brother has gone public, backing a national campaign to stop cruelty to children nationwide.

Bernadette Rogers, from Bamber Bridge, was abused by her father and brother for 13 years as a child.

Earlier this year both men were jailed for raping her - 25 years after their reign of terror began.

Bernadette took her first overdose at 10, after being taken by her brother to a flat in Preston where a group of men took it turns to rape her.

At 13, she was pregnant.

But despite her horrific childhood, Bernadette is determined to have a normal life and will relive her experiences to highlight a new campaign launched by the NSPCC, which is designed to ensure that people tell someone if they think a child is being abused.

Bernadette, 28, who has two children of her own, said: "I left home as soon as I was 16 but it wasn't until two years ago that I finally had the courage to tell the police everything.

"Even then, I struggled to tell them everything that had happened to me. It has taken me so many years to overcome what happened to me, I just wasn't strong enough before now to talk about it."

In fact, it was only when a barrister told Bernadette she was lying during her brother's court case that she suddenly found the strength to tell everyone what had happened to her.

She said: "I looked at the barrister, the judge and the jury. I said to them: You had a choice when you had sex. I didn't. I was raped."

Five weeks ago her brother, James Matthews, was jailed for just under four years, convicted on two counts of rape. Eight months ago her father, John Harness, was sentenced to eight years, on five charges of rape.

Bernadette added: "It has taken so long for me to appreciate myself as a person. I felt so isolated as a child, I even thought what they did to me was normal.

"That is why the NSPCC campaign is so important. If someone is being abused, they must have the courage to shout out about it. If the first person they talk to doesn't listen, they should keep trying until people do start to listen."

The Full Stop Campaign, launched last month, includes a series of hard-hitting television adverts designed to make sure people don't close their minds to child abuse and encourages people to report suspected child abuse crimes.

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