Parents of Southport survivors say anonymity has erased their girls from the story

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Parents of Southport survivors say anonymity has erased their girls from the storyJust now Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleJudith MoritzSpecial correspondentBBCTwenty-three girls survived the attack - but they have been given anonymity by the courts Warning: This article contains distressing and upsetting detailsParents of some of the children injured in the Southport knife attack say they believe they've been given insufficient support because of the anonymity given to them by the courts. Twenty-three girls survived the attack. The has spoken to the parents of five of them.

They include a girl who was stabbed 33 times, and two sisters who were both injured as the elder tried to shield her younger sibling. Some parents said their daughters had missed out on support from local authorities after officials told them they did not know who their children were. All said they felt their daughters were being forgotten as their experiences had been erased from the public's understanding of the attack.

The Details

The mother of one of the children said: "There are 23 girls moving around this town, and nobody has any idea who they are. ""Anonymity is not invisibility," said the father of another one of the girls. "We hope people bear them in mind because it's the absolute least they deserve.

"The parents of some of the Southport survivors - pictured here and below - say their daughters' stories should be heard The attack happened at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop for children in July 2024. Three girls - Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar - were murdered in what was described as the worst mass stabbing in modern British history. The attacker, Axel Rudakubana, was arrested and charged with offences including murder and attempted murder, to which he eventually pleaded guilty.

As soon as legal proceedings began, the court order affecting the physically injured girls was imposed, after an application by the prosecution. The children's parents are not seeking to challenge it. They say they support the order as a means of protecting their daughters' privacy as they grow up, but also feel it has rendered their children invisible.

What Experts Say

The parents say they have chosen to speak to the because they want the world to know what their daughters did to survive, and they want the detail of their children's stories to be heard. To comply with the court order, the names of all the survivors mentioned in this story have been changed. James Speakman/PA WireThe attack in the summer of 2024 sent shockwaves across the worldDaisy is the girl who was stabbed 33 times.

Her mum and dad told us she had saved herself, and survived against all the odds. Their daughter, who was seven at the time, was the last child to escape from the dance studio. She got out having been stabbed more than a dozen times.

She was dragged back inside by the attacker, who continued to hurt her. She then managed to escape for a second time, before collapsing outside.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.