Hitchin comedian makes ‘cathartic’ sitcom about sexual abuse

A comedian who wrote a sitcom about his experiences with sexual abuse said the process was “cathartic” and “life-changing.”

Mark O’Sullivan from Hitchin wrote My Sexual Abuse: The Sitcom and said the process was better than any therapy he had ever done.

A documentary of the same name on Channel 4 traces O’Sullivan’s work as writer, director and producer of this 80s-style family sitcom.

“If someone who watches the show now feels more able to speak out or feels less alone with what has happened to them, then the show has fully served its purpose,” O’Sullivan said.

O’Sullivan said he grew up in Hertfordshire and had a normal upbringing until someone started sexually abusing him when he was 11 or 12 years old.

What followed were several years of abuse.

When O’Sullivan was in his early 30s, he was forced to go to the police after discovering that he was not the only victim.

He said the person was sent to prison after an investigation and trial.

The documentary explores why O’Sullivan decided to write a comedic sitcom about his trauma.

He said: “It’s quite an unusual approach. I know the title is quite provocative and shocking, but it’s also the most apt title for the programme we’ve made.”

O’Sullivan, 47, said it was not about laughing at the abuse or the victims, but rather about finding humor in the darkness and “ridiculous” things he experienced as a victim.

He said: “I’ve always used humor as a sanity outlet to get through the dark things that have happened to me. I’ve always tried to laugh where I could.”

“I joke, I’ve done a lot of therapy over the last 35 years, I’ve done everything… what’s helped me the most is doing this.”

“I thought it could be cathartic and healing, but I had no idea how healing it would be.”

“Creating something changed my life,” he added.

O’Sullivan expressed hope that the documentary and the sitcom will lead to “it becoming normal to talk about (sexual abuse).”

“Because silence fuels these things. It stops people from talking about it. It stops people from saying it’s wrong. The more people who can talk about it, the better,” he said.