Dear heart,

I don’t know why this happened to you. Why the people who were supposed to protect you failed to do so. I don’t know why you had to be the one whose case made such a public splash. Why your darkest, most painful moments became a matter of great national debate. Why your life was suddenly split open.

I don’t know how you are coping, reeling from all of this. How you will recover. How far the other side of that bridge must appear. How alone you must feel.

But you are not alone. You. Are. Not. Alone.

And It. Was. Not. Your. Fault.

And You. Are. More. Than. This.

Right now it may feel like you will never be anything more than a victim, or a bad girl, or the centre of a horrible horrible story. But you will be. You are more than that and you will continue to be so much more.

It will take time. Healing takes time. And courage. And faith – in yourself, dear heart. It might seem so impossible now but there will come a time when you forget to think about this chapter in your life. When the pain hurts a little less. When you start to love yourself again.

You cannot yet understand how the strands of your life will recover from this hopeless tangle. But we must ask you to trust that you are strong enough and brave enough to survive this. If only because you have to.

There are hands and hearts waiting to help you. All you’ve got to do is ask.