"Every day is a battle": Breaking the cycle of sexual abuse

Having her own daughter convinced Eileen to ‘end the cycle of abuse’ in her family, writes Liz Dunphy

Eileen Fowlette who waived her right to anonymity so that her abuser could be named in a court case last month.

At just 13, Eileen Fowlette's life was almost destroyed by her cousin's repeated sexual abuse.

In her first interview since her abuser was convicted, Ms Fowlett has told the Irish Examiner that the experience left her so "crippled with shame and guilt" that she would tear open her own skin to try to escape her asphyxiating emotions.