Drugs, gangs & abuse MONIQUE BRAVELY BREAKS HER SILENCE

Growing up in the small suburb of Taita in Lower Hutt, former Shortland Street actress Monique Bree’s life was tainted with drugs, gangs and tragically, multiple incidences of sexual abuse.

But the 35-year-old has worked long and hard to become the strong woman she is today and has bravely come forward to share her past in the hope that it may help other people who are suffering.

She confides, “The biggest thing is that you can heal from these things. You can walk out a proud person, not just a damaged person. You are not your beginning.”

But in order to tell her story, Monique has had to face the court system – something she was no stranger to as a child. Under New Zealand law, victims who are under the age of 18 are granted automatic name suppression, meaning she has been unable to talk publicly about the abuse.

“I just