A father made the startling statement to his daughter as he proceeded to take away her virginity when she was only 12-years old.
Gemma Schembri, now 21, has decided to share her story to help other girls who have suffered like her.
According to her, the abuse really heated up after he parents separated.
She said:
‘He started to sexually abuse me when I stayed with him and it went on for over a year. He was very manipulative and controlled my thoughts to make me believe it was normal.
Daily Mail reports:
‘The first time he raped me he said afterwards, “Well it was better that it was with me than with some random person in a hotel”.’
Gemma said she didn’t realise what her father was doing was wrong and it took her years to pluck up the courage to reveal she was a victim of abuse.
She explains: ‘My mum hadn’t spoken to me about sexual abuse and what type of touching was acceptable and what wasn’t. It took me two years to tell someone I was being abused as I didn’t realize it was wrong at first and then, when I did, I didn’t know how to broach the subject with my mum.’
As a result of her ordeal, Gemma is now supporting a campaign by the NSPCC – who supported her as she came to terms with her experiences.
It was after she finally confided in her mother that Gemma’s abuse at the hands of her father finally ended and he was arrested, charged and eventually jailed for nine years.
Gemma explained: ‘Telling my mum about the abuse was the worst conversation of my life.
‘I sat down with her and couldn’t get it out at first. Then I was just really blunt and blurted it out. Mum was shocked and started crying and we all sat crying together.’
She said: ‘Mark was arrested and our family was in bits. Mum blamed herself and there was lots of arguing. I felt broken and suicidal and was self harming. I started acting out. I was drinking constantly and didn’t care what I did.
But despite Mark being behind bars, Gemma’s ordeal was far from over as she had to cope with the aftermath of his abuse, something she eventually learnt to deal with thanks to the NSPCC’s help.