Victim of Leeds nurse feared mental health stigma would stop police believing him

The victim feared he would not be believed because of his mental health issues.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he felt his medical history would count against him when he first went to police.

And the reasons for those doubts were reinforced when the nurse’s suspension became public and some people on social media immediately took the side of the nurse.

“It encapsulates all the reasons why I was scared to go forward in the first place,” he said.

“I didn’t think people would believe me. They’ll say ‘it is another nut job’ because, frankly, that’s how people see me because I have a mental health condition.

"People don’t look beyond that. There’s still a huge stigma around that.”

It is this stigma which the Yorkshire Evening Post hopes to bring to an end through its #SpeakYourMind campaign, which encourages people in our city to talk more openly about their mental health.

The victim in this case suffers from agoraphobia, and was diagnosed with acute anxiety and depression following the death of his sister in late 2016.

Leeds mental health nurse jailed for sexual activity with patient

The victim said: “We decided it was better for me to deal with the funeral first and then he could offer emotional support.

“Mental health aside, anybody that’s just gone through that kind of trauma is going to be vulnerable. I didn’t know what day it was at that time.”

A week prior to the appointment, the victim had collected his sister’s ashes on what would have been her birthday.

He said the incident involving Smith had taken over and stopped him from being able to grieve his sister’s death properly.

“There really isn’t much support for male victims [of sexual offences],” he said.

“When you go to the police, they obviously put you in touch with Victim Support but they support you more around the court case and the criminal investigation side of things.

"They don’t actually support you around the incident itself.”

Smith yesterday admitted one offence of sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder by a care worker and was jailed for eight months.

His victim said: “I think he described it as a ‘moment of madness’. Yes it was, but that also sounds like it was consensual. It wasn’t.

“I do feel bad for him in a sense. He’s destroyed his life, he’s made a mistake – but he made that mistake. It’s not my mistake.”