CIARA MONAHAN was just 16-years-old when she was raped by her foster father and decided to waive her right to anonymity in order to help others victims of abuse.
Now 19, Ciara spoke to the Journal about her "terrifying" ordeal and how the abuse she suffered continues to affect her.
Despite this, she says she's determined to speak out in order to encourage other victims of similar abuse to come forward and speak out themselves.
Her foster father, Richard Moloney, 41, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in November, three years after he assaulted Ms Monahan.
Credit: FacebookMoloney was found guilty by a jury of one count of rape, one count of oral rape and one count of sexually assaulting his then 16-year-old foster daughter at their Tipperary home on 16 July, 2016.
At the sentencing hearing last October, Ciara turned to face her attacker and said: "today I stand in front of you a survivor".
Justice Alex Owens said Moloney had abused whatever trust the fostering agency had placed in him and that he has shown no remorse.
Usually the identity of the victims of such circumstance are protected, but Ms Monahan decided to waive her right to anonymity.
Initially, she decided not to go public in order to protect her foster dad's family, and due to the fact that she was living in the same town as her attacker while the case was ongoing, but she later changed her mind.
"I did it for every other girl who’s afraid to speak up, because it’s really hard, and I sometimes questioned myself about why I did say anything in the first place - because it’s been so difficult," she explained.
She added that she hopes her experience will show other victims that justice is possible.
"But now that justice has been served, I would recommend every other girl to speak up. Not everyone is going to believe you but you know yourself and that’s all you can do."
Since she was named publicly, Ciara says she's been contacted by numerous people, both male and female, who have found themselves in similar situations.
"Even on Facebook, I’ve had a lot of people texting me about it saying 'I’ve seen you’ve done this, and it happened to me but I haven’t told anyone yet'. So many people have texted me."
