Madeleine West reveals how her child sex abuse experience has changed her life forever

Madeleine West first revealed she was a survivor of child sex abuse during the launch of the Predatory podcast. Following the jailing of her abuser, we revisit West’s powerful opinion piece. Warning: Distressing content

Actor Madeleine West first revealed she was a survivor of child sexual abuse during News Corp Australia’s powerful Predatory podcast.

The former Neighbours star teamed up with ex-NSW detective Gary Jubelin to expose the monsters “seeking to harm our most vulnerable, most precious citizens — our children”.

“Most of us blindly refuse to acknowledge that very predation is playing out in our towns, our schools, our streets, even in our very homes,” she wrote in February 2023 to launch the podcast. “I should know because it happened to me”.

Actor Madeleine West. Picture: David Caird

West’s quest for justice – not just for herself but other victims of child sexual abuse – culminated on Wednesday with the jailing of her abuser Peter White, 73, who was sentenced to 15 years jail in the County Court of Victoria, after pleading guilty to 33 child sex charges.

“Today’s ruling is the best Christmas gift we could wish for. It took 40 years to deliver and now it’s here … tomorrow looks bright,” West posted on social media after the sentencing.

Here is West’s powerful piece from February.

Opinion: ‘Sexual abuse of children’. Utter those four words in any setting, any country, over any dinner table and you are guaranteed to provoke a strong response. It’s an uncomfortable topic, because the very idea of an adult seeking sexual engagement with a child is uncomfortable, abhorrent. Yet it’s happening. In numbers greater than we can imagine or are willing to accept. Yet while we shake our heads and wring our hands at the thought of some monster seeking to harm our most vulnerable, most precious citizens — our children — most of us blindly refuse to acknowledge that very predation is playing out in our towns, our schools, our streets, even in our very homes.

Hidden in plain sight.

I should know because it happened to me.

In a perfect world there would be a manual outlining how to keep ourselves and others safe — especially children. Ideally we could flip straight to a checklist for ‘how to spot predators’, who to trust and whom not.

But this world is far from perfect, and such a manual does not exist.

If we are honest, even if it did, would we be any good at applying it? Or would we only cast a cautious gaze over strangers? Would our system of checks and balances only target the weird, odd, and ostracised? It’s doubtful our suspicions would extend to the charming, affable and friendly. We have driven home the ‘Stranger Danger’ warning but would you urge your kids to be similarly cautious around close friends, neighbours, caring teachers, trusted confidantes?

Of course not.

Madeleine West as a young child. Picture: David Caird

Those people evade critical examination because time and again we confuse liking someone with being able to trust them implicitly. We think because someone is familiar they are safe. If someone expresses warmth we think they genuinely care for our wellbeing. We teach our kids to engage likewise.

This is where we get it so very wrong.

The fact is — and the statistics prove it — that the predatory monsters who molest children are far more likely to be someone you invited into your home, or someone who already lives there than a stranger loitering in a playground. And if your child has been preyed upon, it is never a one off … it happens time and again — even if caught and charged, predators are unlikely to ever stop.

Watch Madeleine and Gary’s exclusive video interview above.

So what are the real life consequences of our refusal to see? Abuse which runs unchecked across every sector of society; victims left almost incapable of living full, rewarding lives — if they manage to live through it at all.

Detecting these monsters, the predators who destroy childhoods, devastate innocence, and fragment every aspect of their victims lives, is difficult. Often close to impossible. But we can detect them and it begins with us as a society being prepared to face them, to understand them, to stop looking the other way. We need to understand the mind of the predator if we are to strip away their mask.

Madeleine West, in a photo of her as a child, wants to help other survivors speak up and raise awareness among parents of the dangers of online predators. Picture: David Caird

We need to talk about the unthinkable, accepting the seemingly impossible. Engaging in uncomfortable but necessary conversations which acknowledge the abuse so many children are subjected to goes a long way towards removing the shame, the stigma, and the burden of guilt so many survivors struggle with. It is key to setting them free.

Through traumatised eyes the world simply stops making sense. Now, on the slow road towards reclaiming my history and seeking justice I can finally see how being subjected to long term aggravated childhood sexual abuse utterly decimated so many areas of my life and my very sense of self.

Madeleine West as Dee Bliss on Neighbours. Picture: Supplied

For survivors of childhood sexual abuse, the reward is a lifetime sentence of shame, pain, and humiliation. We rationalise what was done to us by accepting blame and actively seeking situations, occupations, even relationships that hurt us further, as if to validate our feelings of worthlessness.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve thought it would just be easier to be dead. I consider myself a strong woman, with so much to be grateful for, and I know it takes courage, support and resilience to keep going. But it’s galling waking everyday to a world that insists on remaining blind.

Madeleine West is speaking up now and seeking justice. Picture: David Caird

It breaks my heart to think that the only thing that might protect others from experiencing what happened to me is good luck! And so now, as a mother myself, the only salve I have is a determination to do all in my power to stop what happened to me happening to anyone else.

Because there are ways to reduce vulnerability without diluting goodwill, and keep our loved ones safe without giving up on mankind.

Hence this podcast, Predatory, was born. From a determination held by me and my trusted friend Gary Jubelin to stop the rot. The decisions we make as parents and carers about how to keep our kids safe are informed by our own experiences and cultural beliefs, but ultimately those decisions are our own.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 1 OF THE PODCAST BELOW:

I’ve learned the hard way and my parenting is definitely informed by what I know now — things anyone tasked with caring for kids should and must know.

Today, I am the mum who attends every party, every playground visit, every game. Standing there on the sidelines, just quietly watching.

I am the mum hesitant to send my little ones off to sleepovers, but keen to suggest whole family get-togethers. I am the mum who has taught herself to ‘game’ to better understand what’s going on behind the screens, and to actively engage. I put a cap on extra-curricular activities, and if it involves being alone with an adult for extended periods or I can’t be in attendance, that activity simply doesn’t happen.

Madeleine West as a young girl. She is now fighting for other survivors of child sex abuse. Picture: David Caird

Call me ‘obsessive’ but frankly I know all too well that we cannot afford not to be. It’s not about assuming every person who crosses our child’s path is a paedophile, it’s about acknowledging they might be and making decisions accordingly. I don’t focus on what my kids are missing out on, I fill their days with enough so they don’t even notice. Because the one thing I’m adamant they miss is exposure to an experience that could destroy their lives.

I’m certainly not endorsing ‘helicopter parenting’ or wrapping your little ones in cotton wool, but statistically, kids who have their cup filled by engaged, attentive parents are exponentially less likely to be groomed by a predator. Where there is no opportunity there is no abuse.

Taking care of kids is everyone’s job. This podcast will offer you tools to help you navigate, assess risk, and make decisions equipped with an ability to gauge who likely predators are, how they think, and where they hide.

For fellow survivors out there, this is not and never was your fault. You are not alone and we can help you find the support you need and deserve.

For anyone, anywhere who has ever harmed a child. If you think you got away with it, hiding in plain sight, think again.

We are coming for you.

– Madeleine West is an Australian actress and child abuse survivor.

For more details on the Predatory podcast, go to predatory.com.au

Predatory is also available at Crime X on Apple Podcasts.

Originally published as Madeleine West reveals how her child sex abuse experience has changed her life forever