10 Apr 2014

Suicide of sexual abuse victim was preventable

Her death “could and should” have been prevented. That was the damning verdict of a serious case review into the suicide of Frances Andrade.

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The violinist killed herself days after testifying against the former music director Michael Brewer who was jailed for six  years last year for sexually assaulting the musician as a teenager.

The review says mental health authorities failed to realise how vulnerable Frances Andrade was – despite her numerous suicide attempts in the build-up to the trial.

It urged mental health services to be more alert to the fall-out from sexual exploitation and called for criminal justice professionals to improve the support offered to sex abuse survivors, and recognise their “vulnerability” when facing their abusers in court.

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