Good afternoon.

My name is Beth Bui. I have been employed as a probation and parole officer since 2007. I am here to speak about my personal experience as a victim of sexual assault; thus, my views and opinions do not represent those of my employer.

I was born in Saigon in 1979. In 1985, my mother advised me that I was going to go on a trip with her. I was then just five years old. I recall my mother's hand holding mine tightly as we ran through the rice fields at night, trying to be quiet and not draw attention. I recall walking through the swamp and being carried on the shoulder of an adult when the water rose too high for me to continue by foot. The boat we boarded was small and flimsy and we were packed together like sardines.

We were known as the “boat people” fleeing Vietnam. For more than 10 days, we drifted on the open sea. We were robbed by pirates, but we were eventually saved. We stayed at a refugee camp, and it was here that my mother met a man and they began a romantic relationship. After nine months at the refugee camp, my aunt sponsored my mother and me to come to Calgary. Eventually, my mother decided to be with this man, and we moved to Brantford to reside with him, along with his sister and his nephew, in a two-bedroom apartment.

As an immigrant, my mother worked two jobs, sometimes three, mostly at night, and the man worked during the day. This created opportunities for this man and his nephew to take advantage of me sexually. I was a young child, just eight years old, unable to speak English and not knowing or understanding what was happening to me.

Before this incident, I viewed the world as an adventure. Afterwards, the world became a dark and frightening place.

In 2012, in my early thirties, I became a mother, and I realized that I could no longer live with this secret, and that in order to ensure my child's safety, I must report the two perpetrators to the police. The first perpetrator was found not guilty in criminal court. I cannot identify this man due to a non-disclosure agreement in civil court, but he continues to reside with my mother to this day.

As a victim, the criminal court process left me wounded inside and invisible on the outside.

As for the second perpetrator, he left the country, and there was a warrant for his arrest.

At first I hesitated to meet with Mr. Larry Brock in preparation for this case. I honestly felt that the one-hour-and-thirty-minute drive in rush hour to Brantford was not worth my time for a five-minute face-to-face meeting with him. Mentally, I was preparing to hear why my case was insignificant, but I wanted to find a reason to not trust Mr. Brock to do the job of protecting me as a victim. It is what I have learned and expected. I was ready to be dismissed and defeated. However, Mr. Brock proved me wrong.

In 2019, the perpetrator was found guilty at youth court in Brantford. He received six months' house arrest followed by six months' probation. The offender was a few months short of being an adult during the commission of this offence. Due to the offender's reporting his address in Brampton, which is where I am living, I thought it was best not to access counselling and resources close to my home. I felt that my choices were limited, and I felt alone.

I feel that I do not deserve the label of “survivor”, because I feel that I am not surviving. I still view myself as a victim, because the sexual abuse is devastating. It is shameful as a mother to admit that I do not want a child who is a girl because I know the challenges that she may face too well. It is crippling to constantly question whether I'm a good mother for my children. It is exhausting to unlearn past behaviours and relearn healthy ones. I feel that the offender's lenient sentence negated my lost childhood, my self-worth and my potential.

Ultimately, I feel that I was not supported by the criminal justice system, and I continue to view myself as a victim even to this day.

Thank you.

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