A brand new MP who grew to become pregnant at 15 has revealed she was “groomed” by an older man and now desires to be a voice for “all of those women that have children in far from ideal circumstances”.
MP Natalie Fleet mentioned her household had struggled when she was rising up, at one stage discovering themselves homeless earlier than she gave delivery to her daughter “at a very young age”.
In an interview with GB Information’ Gloria De Piero to be broadcast on Sunday, she mentioned: “On the time, once I was 15, I felt filled with disgrace and guilt and accountability.
“And all I was determined to do was make sure that she had a life that was as good as she would have had to any age parent. That was what I was determined to do, I didn’t think about me or the impact.”
However, together with her daughter now 23 and “the absolute love of my life”, Ms Fleet mentioned she might look again and assume “that wasn’t okay”.
She mentioned: “That was an older man. That was probably, I imply now we’ve labels like grooming that we didn’t have then.
“I didn’t know we were having unprotected sex. I was a child and this is statutory rape. You know, at the time this isn’t something that we were talking about. It’s not how I saw myself.”
When she got here to inform her daughter about what occurred, Ms Fleet mentioned she had been shocked that she was unable to search out any recommendation for girls in her scenario.
She mentioned: “There was nothing. There’s no acknowledgement that it occurs within the UK.
“And the more research I’ve done, I’ve found that there are over 3,000 conceptions every year from rape, but there’s no charity to support these women.”
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Ms Fleet is now a mom of 4 and a Labour MP, elected earlier this month within the Bolsover seat represented for many years by Dennis Skinner earlier than being gained by the Conservatives in 2019.
In that place, she mentioned she wished to make use of her platform to speak extra about ladies in her scenario “and do something about it”.
She mentioned: “I really want to be a voice for all of those people, all of those women that have children in far from ideal circumstances.”
Including that her childhood experiences nonetheless had an influence on her, together with “weekly nightmares”, she mentioned she was nonetheless “so excited about what the next Labour government is going to do”.
She mentioned: “We’re going to ensure that we’re smashing down obstacles to alternative in order that there may be extra tales like mine.
“I’m a product of the final Labour authorities. It wasn’t an ideal authorities, however it modified my life and it was transformational.
“And that’s the rationale that it’s value doing a job the place you’ll be able to’t go to the store in your pyjamas anymore, however the place you continue to have a panic alarm in your bag, your personal kids are probably in danger, that’s actually terrible.
“But when it means that you can make other children’s lives, who aren’t as fortunate, better, that’s incredible.”
