The class prejudice of the so-called experts blinded them to the sexual abuse of working-class girls.
In 2009, I completed my PhD thesis – an intense, five-year-long piece of research into the experiences and treatment of working-class women. The research was carried out on a council estate in Nottingham, which had also been my home for over 20 years. The women’s story was also my story. I explored how they had been devalued and demeaned from school onwards – by the media, politicians, charities and those on the other side of the desk in housing offices and welfare services.
