A Sheffield survivor of a paedophile ring has spoken out against the new police initiative to support the black community, claiming it’s “tick boxing” and “absolute rubbish”.

South Yorkshire Police launched a new Race Action Plan in conjunction with their annual Black History Month event on October 8, in a bid to improve trust and confidence in policing. 

The new initiative, which promised to deliver from now until 2026, has six-core themes which include: building an anti-racist workforce, increasing representation, proportionately using police powers, improving relationships and confidence, supporting black colleges and achieving justice. 

The scheme is part of a wider national plan, which started in 2022.

But Ursula Myrie, who was abused from aged two to 16 in London, first by men in the church before falling victim in the Shirley Oaks scandal, said: “It’s rubbish. Absolute rubbish.

“I think it’s just words on paper. I don’t think they’re going to action it in any meaningful way. In five years from now they will roll out the exact same statement with the exact same set of goals. I just think it’s rubbish.” 

Ursula, now from Woodseats, who has waived her right to anonymity, was beaten by her mum, who sent her to men in the church so she could be raped. This abuse started in 1975 and continued for more than a decade. 

She said: “It was my mum that was beating me and breaking my bones, but it was also my mum who was scheduling the leaders of the church to come in and rape me.

“They were men in the church. That’s something that even in 2024 is still happening. It’s not called abuse, its culture. That’s what it’s passed off as. They were supposedly raping the demons out of me.” 

Ursula said police didn’t take her seriously when she went to discuss historic abuse with them four years ago regarding the Shirley Oaks scandal. 

The 51-year-old said: “I went to the police regarding historic abuse. As part of the compensation package, I had to sit and talk to the police about it and because I kept regressing mentally during the conversation with them, they felt like I was being overly dramatic. 

“I know for a fact if that was a white woman having to go through every detail of how she was raped and abused it would be different.”

The Shirley Oaks homes were run by a paedophile ring, which was under operation of Lambeth Council.

In the 1980’s, Ursula was raped and sexually abused by male staff for a two-year period from aged 14 to 16. 

She was one of hundreds offered compensation by Lambeth Council.

She said: “Anybody’s brain would shut down and they would begin to regress but I was treated like I was being overly dramatic, and the police weren’t taking me very seriously to the point where I ended up just dropping the case.”

South Yorkshire Police have stated that they understand the community’s concerns and they plan to prioritise the areas of policing which most disproportionately affect their black communities and colleagues until their aims have been achieved. 

Ursula Myrie is now founder and CEO of Adira, a survivor-led mental health and well-being organisation, supporting black people with mental health issues.