Christine McGuinness: I was sexually abused, like so many autistic women

Model and TV property Christine McGuinness speaks to the BBC astir her big autism diagnosis and her acquisition with intersexual abuse.

Christine McGuinness got her autism diagnosis successful 2021, astatine the property of 33.

For her, it explained a lot. As a teen successful Liverpool, she struggled to support her absorption astatine school, and got into occupation throwing chairs. She near astatine 14 without immoderate qualifications. "I was a precise confused, mixed-up small teen not truly knowing wherever I fitted in," she says.

From childhood, sensory issues meant she lone ate beige foods. In her teens, this led to an eating upset that caused her periods to stop.

And she's hypersensitive to dependable and smell, which tin marque being successful engaged oregon noisy places difficult.

"I ever conscionable privation to deterioration receptor defenders," Christine - the erstwhile spouse of TV presenter Paddy McGuinness - says astir being triggered by definite noises successful a room, similar the ticking of a clock.

But 1 of the astir hard aspects of Christine's beingness came erstwhile she was younger. She was sexually abused from property 9 to 11. She was past raped astatine 14.

The acquisition was truthful traumatic, she prayed each nighttime that she wouldn't aftermath up the adjacent morning. "Just due to the fact that it was truthful awful," she says, "it was conscionable awful."

A ample fig of autistic women and girls study experiences of intersexual assault, says Dr Sarah Lister Brook, objective manager astatine the National Autistic Society. This tin instrumentality the signifier of coercive, carnal oregon intersexual abuse. "This is simply a superior and profoundly concerning issue," Dr Brook adds.

One 2022 study, an online survey that spoke to 225 people, suggests that astir 9 successful 10 autistic women person been victims of "sexual violence". The researchers add: "Two thirds of the victims were precise young erstwhile they were archetypal assaulted."

Autism is not defined arsenic an unwellness oregon a disease, according to the NHS. Instead, an autistic person's encephalon works otherwise than different people.

And it's a spectrum, meaning each autistic idiosyncratic is different. Some communal characteristics mightiness see uncovering it hard to pass and interact with others, getting anxious astir unfamiliar situations oregon doing the aforesaid happening repeatedly.

Women and girls mightiness beryllium overlooked from getting an autism diagnosis due to the fact that of the humanities cognition that autism mostly affects men and boys, oregon due to the fact that they're adept astatine "masking" oregon camouflaging their autistic traits.

For Christine, "masking" tin mean practising conversations earlier she has them oregon mimicking different radical successful a room, conscionable truthful she tin acceptable in. "It's exhausting," she says.

One crushed wherefore autistic women mightiness beryllium much astatine hazard of intersexual maltreatment is due to the fact that they're often near retired of relationship groups erstwhile they're increasing up, says Rosie Creer the objective manager of Respond, an maltreatment enactment foundation for autistic radical and radical with learning disabilities. This can, instead, marque them much exposed to exploitative relationships.

There are galore women successful the UK, conscionable similar Christine, who person been dealing with undiagnosed autism for decades, and present Christine is looking for answers.

Watch connected Wednesday 15 March, 21:00 GMT connected BBC One and connected BBC iPlayer.

Christine says she ever recovered it hard starting and maintaining friendships. "There've been times successful my beingness wherever I desperately wanted a friend," she says.

Other hazard factors for autistic women and girls tin see connection issues betwixt autistic radical and radical who aren't autistic, feeling the request to delight others, and a deficiency of accessible acquisition astir enactment and consent, adds Rosie Creer.

Like Christine, Sarah Douglas was diagnosed arsenic autistic erstwhile she was an adult. And she says she was raped arsenic a teenager.

This led to decades of panic attacks, eating disorders and adjacent self-harm. "I was a mess, basically," she says.

Sarah, a postgraduate pupil successful Bristol who has co-authored a publication astir the experiences of autistic people, says autistic women similar her often "develop people-pleasing and masking behaviours" truthful they're not noticed arsenic being different.

"I was benignant of primed to beryllium passive," she says.

Sarah besides says she received nary enactment acquisition erstwhile she was increasing up - and she says her inheritance didn't hole her to announcement "red flags" successful imaginable abusers.

"My communicative is not unusual, that's the truly appalling thing," she says. "For a batch of autistic people, this is benignant of normal."

Sarah clarifies that it's not a person's autism that causes them to beryllium assaulted oregon raped.

"It's ever the prime of the perpetrator," she says. "It's not the autistic person's fault."

Christine adds that though the treatment astir intersexual battle among autistic women and girls is "frightening," it's a "very important one".

"For parents and carers to beryllium much alert is simply a affirmative thing. I don't privation it to scare oregon upset anybody, I conscionable privation radical to beryllium much alert that this is rather common, unfortunately."

Dr James Cusack, CEO of autism probe and campaigning foundation Autistica, agrees that consciousness of this contented tin pb to autistic women and girls, "feeling much empowered to person the assurance to advocator for themselves".

After leaving school, Christine was encouraged by her mum to participate quality pageants, going connected to triumph Miss Liverpool successful 2007. She met aboriginal husband, Paddy McGuinness, erstwhile she was 19 - and remained successful a narration with him until their separation past year.

In the documentary, she says she felt much capable to permission the narration aft getting her autism diagnosis, adding, "I stayed successful a spot wherever I was astir apt unhappy due to the fact that it was harmless and I don't similar change."

Christine says she has experienced galore positives since getting her autism diagnosis.

"It's helped maine recognize myself a batch more. I'm trying to not beryllium truthful hard connected myself."

Christine says her autism diagnosis has helped her subordinate much to her 3 children, who are besides autistic. For example, she tin recognize wherefore her children are sometimes not precise social, and she works with unit astatine their schoolhouse to amended accommodate their needs.

She says her children are present enjoying schoolhouse and communicating well, describing them as, "happy, gorgeous small children".

Sarah says her autism diagnosis besides helped her marque affirmative changes to her life.

"I'm inactive me, but I'm a overmuch much full maine now. And it's a truly bully spot to be."

More than 125,000 radical - including women and girls - are presently waiting for an autism diagnosis, according to NHS figures.

Dr Brook says specified agelong waits tin beryllium "traumatic" and, for many, it volition mean struggling without enactment oregon yet reaching "crisis point". And she argues determination should beryllium much tailored support, via grooming for the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and counselling services, erstwhile autistic women and girls study intersexual assault.

A Government spokesperson said it is "committed to reducing delays and improving entree to support" and recognises "sexual offences tin person a devastating interaction connected victims" including radical with a disability. They adhd that they're investing to guarantee patients are seen much rapidly and to money for unfortunate support.

Meanwhile, a CPS spokesperson says prosecutors person "specific grooming connected supporting neurodiverse individuals" and are "focused connected ensuring victims get the accordant and compassionate work they deserve".

While Christine says she's present pleased with her beingness arsenic a mother, autism advocator and TV personality, she sometimes wonders if her beingness mightiness person taken a antithetic people if she'd been diagnosed earlier.

"For small Christine, I privation she'd had a small spot much help," she says.

Information and enactment astir autism and sexual abuse tin beryllium recovered via the BBC Action Line.

BBC images courtesy: Optomen / Duncan Stingemore / Imogen Mayow