I am happy I survived and was able to protect others

RACHAEL WATTS WAS SEVEN WHEN SHE WAS ATTACKED BY BABES IN THE WOODS MURDERER RUSSELL BISHOP. SHE REVEALS HER TERRIFYING STORY IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY. BY RACHAEL DAVIS

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Rachael has chosen now to tell her story.

“There are a number of reasons why I chose to share my story publicly now,” she explains.

“Firstly, Russell Bishop died and I no longer felt afraid of him identifying me, finding me, contacting me.

“Secondly, I was tired of simply being referred to as ‘the seven-year-old victim.’ I wanted people to realise there was a person behind that footnote.

“Thirdly, my mental health has deteriorated significantly, and I hoped that by no longer carrying this burden alone it would help me to heal and move forward without carrying this weight by myself anymore.”

Taking part in the documentary, which involved revealing the extent of her trauma, seeing evidence from her case, and reliving her memories of the awful event, was a difficult experience for Rachael.

“The thing that I had the biggest problem with, and the hardest time processing, was one of the photographs that was taken by the police. This was in the first set of photographs that were taken by them, before I was cleaned up and the blood washed away.

“I felt disassociated from her, as if it were not me but someone else.”