Lauren – not her real name – knows what it takes. She knows how loud the voice in her head was telling her not to go to the police.

“I was very reluctant to introduce myself…but I’d say it really helps to set you free,” she said.

“I thought I was going to lose my family, I thought I might… lose my friends. I even foolishly thought I might lose my job… because I hadn’t protected others properly, but now I see that’s not the case at all.”

“You will be believed and supported,” she added.

In October, Brian Furneaux, of Ipplepen near Newton Abbot, was jailed for 13 years for two counts of rape and nine counts of sexual assault.

Lauren’s victim was 15 at the time. Her decision to go to the police was made more than 20 years after the abuse she endured.

“It was the ugly secret I carried for a long time, about which I felt a lot of guilt and shame.

“Going through this and knowing that I still have the support and love of my family and friends, it’s really liberating and makes you feel vindicated,” she said.