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Having observed her behaviour , the institution also suspected that Ruby might have been sexually abused . An examination confirmed that her hymen had been ruptured . Ruby could not explain what had happened ; confused , she accused different people ( her father , neighbours , relatives , her uncle ). As a result , neither the Court of Justice nor the Guardianship Council was in a position to intervene .
From this point , Ruby seems to have learned how to attract attention . She started to invent situations and to lie . Once she falsely declared that her birthday was the next day in order to receive gifts ; she revealed the deception after people sang Happy Birthday for her .
As Ruby matured , she started to leave the institution in the late afternoon and go to neighbours ’ houses , sometimes to see single men ; on occasion , she returned the following day .
These problems worsened in her teens and the Guardianship Council worked to find Ruby a foster home . They tried her mother ’ s relatives : the grandparents , an aunt and , finally , her mother . In every case , Ruby systematically accused people of sexually abusing and mistreating her . An attempt to place her with her aunt ( her father ’ s sister ), in a different city , also failed .
After these attempts , she was sent to the shelter she lives in now . She finds it difficult to follow rules , is aggressive to other children and staff , argues constantly , swears , fights , lies , and has poor hygiene habits . After further medical and psychological tests , health care professionals discovered that she has a mild mental disability and conduct disorder . Ruby takes a variety of psychiatric medicines .
Unfortunately , her persistent behavioural problems , mood swings , dishonesty , and complaints of illness and maltreatment are exhausting the capacity of professionals to give her a stable and decent life .
The story of Myada , ten years old , Sudan
Myada
The story shows :
• Grew up in a violent home .
• Sexually abused by her father .
• Suffers from anxiety , irritability and nightmares .
Myada lived with her father , mother and two older brothers in Omdurman . Her parents were in conflict much of the time . Her father regularly beat and insulted his wife and his children . Life in the house was not comfortable .
The situation worsened when Myada was ten . Her father interfered sexually with her and ordered her to tell no-one . He continued abusing her sexually while the mother was sleeping , and showed her pornographic videos on his phone .
APPENDIX
During this period , the mother warned her children how to protect themselves from abuse ; so Myada told her mother what her father had done . It was a big shock for all the family and the mother decided to report the case to the police . The father denied Myada ’ s allegations but gradually disappeared from the house and their lives .